Valiant Hearts II
by Kuugen the Fox
Summary: The Keyblade has chosen Kairi as its master. After sealing Kingdom Hearts her journey continues. Along the way she meets Olette and Naminè, two unique girls destined to share her fate. A tale about the struggle against destiny. Shoujo-ai.
1. The voice I can hear

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter I

_The Voice I Can Hear _

It was a dark room of immeasurable scale in which an entity with a black robe stood. Nothing was there. At least, nothing the eyes of any creature living under the lights could have seen. There was an unknown sensation about it, something that would give you a terrible feeling.

A low sound made its way to the hall as a being, familiar to the other, entered it, walking slowly to the one who was already standing in the middle of it. They faced each other, not saying a word or making a single noise. Just standing there in , the one that had been in the hall all along made the first move.

"Speak, Demyx. How are the preparations going?"

He had a cold and emotionless voice, a sound that would make one feel ill. It was clearly a male voice, the kind one really didn't want to meet in a dark alley.

The man continued to stand there, waiting for the other to answer. He didn't have to wait too long.

"It's still going according to our plan. There is nothing to worry about. However, Marluxia seems to guess we're aware of his betrayal."

The second man's voice was all but cold and emotionless. It had a trace of fear and subservience to it, but it was also clearly a male one. It was softer and most likely younger than the first.

There was a short pause. It was as if the first man was torn between simply accepting the fact and giving praise to the man for his actions.

Whatever his choice could have been, they were interrupted by yet another entity in black robes. Unlike the man who had entered moments ago, he came running in the hall, calling out alarming news.

"We have been found out. A spy, most likely from that cursed Hollow Bastion, has been sighted as she left this world."

And so, for the first time, the first man moved. He pointed at the one that last came in, and spoke again. A commanding voice shook the hall, a voice which one would not dare to object with.

"Tell Xigbar to initiate Plan Herax II. Do it now! And send me Marluxia. We will use this opportunity to get rid of all obstacles once and for all. I will not tolerate any further failures!"

Quietly obeying, the two that had been commanded to search for the spy just stood there for a moment, then vanished into the darkness. The first of the three did not. He was still standing in the Hall, trying to suppress his rage and erase his doubts.

How could they have been so lax about their security?

"How did that damned spy get in anyway? What could she have seen? Nothing of importance, right? Nothing I should worry about. It will not influence our plan in the slightest."

He was sure. Made himself believe that nothing went wrong. It was just a little unimportant flaw in their security. Nothing mentionable. Nothing at all.

But he could not have been more wrong.

---Valiant Hearts---

The Castle of Hollow Bastion, one of the worlds that Kairi would never forget. It was here she found out that it was Ansem of the Heartless that had abducted her childhood friends, Sora and Riku. It was here that Sora and Riku sacrificed themselves to protect Kingdom Hearts. Again she was all alone, the Chosen One of the Keyblade, again on a journey to find them.

"Sora...Riku...I swear by my life that I will find you."

The battles were hard, and she hadn't been able to save all the worlds that had been consumed by the Heartless and the Darkness. Not even the sealing of Kingdom Hearts had restored some worlds that had been completely absorbed by the Darkness.

However, currently being in Hollow Bastion, and hoping that some of its inhabitants heard some news, Kairi spent her days mostly in dispirited boredom. No question, the Heartless weren't beaten at all. They were still out there. Somewhere. And along with them, Sora and Riku, unable to escape from the Darkness. But there was no sense in just blindly traveling worlds and looking for them. There were just too many worlds out there, and not even half of them had ever even heard of the Heartless.

"Don't make such a face, Kairi."

A young girl, probably not much older than Kairi herself, with black hair, wearing a pair of short trousers of a faint green color, a black vest and knee-length boots, was trying to cheer her up.

"You know I don't like sitting around and doing nothing, Yuffie."

"That's why I'm saying you shouldn't make such a face. I have some hot news for you! I'll tell you as soon as everyone's gathered. We're only missing Tifa. She is probably off somewhere searching for Cloud again, to make him actually do his job for a change."

Kairi's blue eyes went wide. Yuffie had been on some information-collecting missions, and it seemed like she finally managed to dig up some interesting material. Kairi stood up, anticipating hearing the news that the self-proclaimed ninja had found. However, Yuffie was holding back, much to the annoyance of the Keyblade-wielding girl. She had no choice but to wait until everyone was gathered at Merlin's house, which the group, composed of the few close friends Kairi had, used often as meeting point.

Almost an hour later, all of the people necessary had been found. Yuffie, much to her liking, was the center of attention. She stood up and started reporting.

"You all know that keyhole portal way down in the canyon and how it was blocked? Well, Cid has finally managed to unlock the block and after a short discussion with Squ—"

A cough came from a man with a leather jacket, armed with a gunblade and dressed almost entirely in black. He gave an icy look to the spy for a moment, then let the girl continue with her report.

"And after a short discussion with Leon, I got permission to enter the portal. You absolutely won't believe what I found there. It was a downright gigantic complex of buildings, with a very impressive skyscraper as its center. It was all white and—"

This time, a brown-haired woman dressed in pink and with a red ribbon in her hair addressed the girl. "Yuffie, you know I really like to hear you describing other worlds, but we all know it's probably a very fascinating place. What we want to hear is what you found there that's so important."

The reporting girl sighed and continued, leaving out all the additional information and getting straight to the point. Yuffie didn't like this sort of report, but there was no point in defying Aerith. She always won an argument with her kind yet determined nature.

"It seems it's not related to the Heartless at all and—"

The next disruption came from Kairi. Discouraged that this may not contain any clue about her friends, the Keybladress was about to leave the gathering, but was held back by Aerith. The older woman placed her hands on the shoulders of the red-haired girl. "Don't be rude. Just because it is not related to the Heartless doesn't mean there is no point in listening to it."

Kairi nodded and got her hopes a bit up. She would listen to Yuffie's report, no matter how meaningless the outcome might be. What harm could it do, anyway?

"As I was saying, it seems it's not related to the Heartless but to a new species, something I haven't seen ever before. We all know the Heartless don't think or feel emotions, nor are they really smart or anything of that sort. These beasts are different. They're white, more silver-like, and seem intelligent, maybe even able to follow strategic rules! I somehow managed to get away without a scratch over the roof of a nearby building. There was only a small number of them and none of them was able to fly. Quite a few of those things were holding weapons. From the roof, I had a better view."

Yuffie made a short break, not looking so cheerful anymore. The following was certainly nothing pleasant.

"Someone is building an army of those things there. I saw hundreds, thousands. Although most of them seemed to be of the weakest kind, it was a really fearsome view. I've only seen that many Heartless once, and that was when Hollow Bastion was taken over."

She took a moment to look around at the other's reactions to what she had said. An army of never before seen creatures in a nearby world with an unblocked keyhole portal had quite an impact on the people present. While Cid and Leon started talking about how to best to seal the keyhole for now, Tifa was mumbling something about Cloud, and Aerith just seemed to quietly think about it. Kairi, though, seemed abruptly interested in those enemies. Yuffie fake-coughed a bit to bring everyone's attention back to her. "I'm not done yet. The real breaking news is still to be revealed."

All eyes were glued on her. With a smirk on her face, the black-haired girl continued once again.

"I was thinking about finding out who is building and collecting those creatures. It was a real hassle to get in, you know. I had to evade a lot of traps, and that one time, I even—"

A simultaneous "Yuffie!" wound through the room from her audience. Again disrupted, the smirk vanished, and with a sulking face, the ninja continued.

"However, I made it in, and found myself on the third balcony of a REALLY big hall, completely wrapped in pitch black darkness. First I thought there wasn't anything of interest there, but I had somehow a hunch that there WAS something, so I waited a bit. And for real, after just a moment, there was someone coming...I hid myself between two pillars on the edge of the balcony and waited.

"First off, nothing happened. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness by that time and I could see that there were TWO people in black robes. The one must have stood in the hall the entire time I was there! One of them started to speak, calling the other Demyx and asking how the preparations for 'the plan' were going. The other said it was all going according to plan. Then both of them just stood there, saying nothing. I was thinking of getting closer, but since they just continued to stand there, I left the balcony the same way I came in, and got back here in one piece."

Ending her report, Yuffie looked directly to Leon and said, "That's all." She took her seat.

For a few seconds, the garage was as quiet as the night. They just looked at each other until Leon stood up and looked at the girl that just had delivered the report.

"Good work. There is no question that those people are planning something dangerous. We need more information to take countermeasures, and—" He was interrupted by Kairi, with whom Aerith seemed to be having problems holding back. Kairi was kind of furious. The only thing she could think of at that very moment was getting to this new world and finding out if there were any clues regarding Sora and Riku.

"I'll go! I'll be okay, even with those new enemies! I've always managed to get back in one piece, haven't I?"

Leon sighed and sat down. If the Chosen One of the Keyblade really wanted to go, he couldn't really order her to sit around and do nothing. He didn't have that kind of authority. However, a glance at Aerith's expression told him that there wasn't much of a choice. He sighed again. It was a bad habit to sigh at any given opportunity. He went over to lay a hand on Kairi's shoulder. He couldn't possibly let her go alone.

"Didn't you hear Yuffie? A whole legion of those new monsters is sitting there probably waiting for you to show up! We can't afford to let the Chosen of the Keyblade go all alone. I just can't believe that you know what you're doing in your current mental state."

After a glare from Aerith and seeing the wild determination in Kairi's eyes, he let out another sigh and eventually gave up.

"I think it's okay if we all go together to that place. However, I won't allow you to go wild and just run away from the group no matter what we find there or what we see. After all, you're still just a sixteen-year-old girl and—"

Tifa, a black-haired woman who specialized in martial arts and was dressed in black shorts and a black top, stood up, walked over to Leon and slapped him so hard that he was covering his cheek with a hand, looking quite surprised. The sound of a loud slap rang through the whole garage.

Tifa was evidently quite angry. All eyes went to her and Leon as the woman started to address the man with a big scar across his face with quite a disrespectful tone.

"This very same sixteen-year-old girl has saved yours, ours, and the world's asses quite excellently, don't you think? It's a hundred years too early for you, or any of us, to belittle her!"

With that, the really mad woman walked out of the room, leaving the remaining people in an awkward silence.

The first to speak was Aerith. She went over to Leon and knelt down as she treated his pain with a vita spell.

"I don't agree with the manner in which she said it, but I do agree with what Tifa said, Leon. It's really a bit rude for you to address her that way. After all, we'd still be playing hide and seek with the Heartless in Traverse Town if it weren't for her."

Standing up, turning at the other people, Aerith continued. "I also think Leon has a point when he says that it is too dangerous to let Kairi go alone. We should all go. I just don't want to sit around, doing nothing but waiting when I could fight. We all could. I'm sure that is also what Tifa is thinking."

At the very same moment Aerith had finished speaking, Tifa came back into the room, pointing her fist at Leon to give off a final warning.

"It's exactly like Aerith says. I don't want to see Kairi hurt anymore. And Leon, if you value your health, you better not address Kairi in such a poor manner again. She is like a daughter for me, and I don't think you have any right to say things like that to her."

Tifa wasn't in a good mood and ran off again, this time mumbling something about finding Cloud to join the group for this mission.

The man with the gunblade just nodded and sighed, making a mental note to never again speak ill of Kairi when Tifa was present. He preferred his bones to be in one piece. This wasn't really his day.

Tifa was just about to leave the residential quarters when she stopped. She hadn't been on very good terms with Aerith lately, and her sudden leave wouldn't make it any better. They had one argument after another, and most of them just because Tifa didn't agree with Aerith's education method regarding Kairi.

However, it couldn't continue that way. She had really got to love Aerith over the past year and couldn't accept that it would end like this. Aerith loved spicy food, although they had it only on rare occasions because Kairi absolutely loathed it.

"I guess Kairi has to live with it for today. I don't want to sleep on the couch anymore and it has been over a week since we..." Tifa didn't finish that sentence and slightly blushed instead for a moment before she ran off. Cloud would not skip this trip because he was a good fighter, even when he was a horrible human.

Taking Aerith's words as the conclusion of this meeting, everyone slowly left. Cid remained until the end, since he used this house as his laboratory anyway. He had to prepare...things for the upcoming trip to the world with the new enemy, and he didn't like when someone was playing peeping tom when he was working. Just a moment before Leon left, Cid addressed him, making the man stop for a moment.

"This could get pretty dangerous. It's been quite a while since I've had a lance in my hands, you know?"

Leon just nodded, not knowing what calamity they'd gotten themselves into.

The days went by at a lightning speed; the date for the raid on 'The World That Never Was' was coming closer with each hour. Everybody was restless and busy with preparations, especially Kairi, who hadn't stopped training for nearly the entire time. If Aerith hadn't been looking after her, she would have probably even skipped sleep.

Aerith had always cared the most about the Chosen One of the Keyblade. Her and Tifa. It was a bit embarrassing for Kairi, but those two were like parents for the young girl. It was a bit of an open secret that they found themselves in some sort of romantic relationship after adapting to the role of parents for her.

"You _will_ break if you don't **take** a break, Kairi. I know you're eager to look for your friends, but it won't do you any good if you collapse from being overworked."

"I...know. But I just can't get myself go to sleep when I know that I might be about to find some important clue about how to rescue Sora and Riku."

Her eyes were shadowed from a lack of sleep, and she really didn't look all that good. There was no question that the few last nights had been restless ones.

Aerith took her adoptive daughter by the hand, dragging the red-haired girl along with her. Kairi really didn't have the power to resist anymore since she had been training day and night with only little to no time for rest.

"You need a break from this. Even if you were chosen by the Keyblade, you can't train nonstop day and night. You'll be exhausted to no end by the time we enter that place."

Kairi had to kind of agree with this. Now that she had finished practicing, her own boundaries were becoming apparent. Sudden exhaustion seized her mind, making her feel dizzy.

The brown-haired woman had dragged her along to where she, Tifa and Kairi were living. Initially, the young girl had no place to go since her family had moved to the Destiny Islands, and living all alone in the castle was out of the question for a sixteen-year-old girl. Kairi had wanted, deep in her heart, to go back to her real family, but she would only bring danger upon them if she returned there.

Instead of living alone, Aerith said she would take her in. After a few months of just those two living there, Tifa had had a huge argument with Cloud and the black-haired woman left the apartment that she had shared with him. The blond man had continued his journey to find his archnemesis, Sephiroth, so he could settle things with him once and for all.

Tifa, though, had asked Aerith to let her move into the same house. Living with Cid or Leon was out of the question for her, and Yuffie was way too energetic for Tifa's tastes. The calmer woman didn't really have any objections, though, and just like that, matters were settled, and she moved in to live with Kairi and Aerith.

Tifa wasn't at home and Kairi sat down on a chair, now feeling extremely worn out. She stretched out her legs and arms and let the Keyblade return to the shape of a key ring pendant.

"I wonder if we'll find anything useful," sighed the girl as she closed her eyes. Really hating to be like that -complaining and unconfident- but unable to do anything about it, another small sigh escaped her lips.

Aerith, however, went upstairs and left Kairi alone. It didn't take more than just a few minutes before the redhead dozed off, lying halfway on the table, quietly sleeping.

That was, until Tifa came in. She was in a mood that could only be described as something like Wild Animal Rage. She slammed the door hard enough to startle Kairi, who summoned her Keyblade Oathkeeper and faced the black-haired woman for a moment, ready to attack in case she was an enemy—until she recognized that it was only Tifa, who had almost broken the door.

"Wow, Kairi. You're looking terrible. Did Cid test some new robot on you?" asked Tifa, looking a bit worried.

If Kairi was here, Aerith must be too. Which would mean...the woman sighed.

"Tifa Lockheart!" The pink-dressed woman came down the stairs, pointed a finger at the now not-so-raging-anymore woman, and followed with the sermon that she had heard at least a million times before—not to slam the door.

"Okay, okay, Aerith, I get it. I get it already, damn it! I didn't know Kairi was here!" answered Tifa as she looked at Kairi with eyes that asked for nothing but help.

The two women were a really good pairing until it came to matters that affected Kairi. While Aerith was a bit overprotective, Tifa encouraged Kairi to work on her skills with the Keyblade, which lead to Kairi being a bit of a tomboy.

The girl stood up and gave both of them a 'Stop it, both of you, now!' glare. This worked every time, although neither of them liked when Kairi did it. A bit annoyed, and really tired, Kairi went upstairs to her room, leaving both Aerith and Tifa alone.

Left alone with her thoughts, Kairi fell on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Tomorrow was the date for the trip. Everyone had prepared themselves as much as possible.

They wouldn't take any casualties.

Not anymore.

"I'll protect them. I'm not the Chosen of the Keyblade for nothing." And with that in mind, Kairi fell asleep again, too tired to even take off her clothes and change into something more comfortable.

Her dreams were always a mess, but this time they were downright unnatural. Instead of the usual darkness and Sora and Riku, there was nothing but white light around her. No voices of her friends, no Heartless that engulfed them, nothing at all. It was just plain white and bright.

"This is the weirdest dream I've ever had," Kairi decided as she looked around.

Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the bright light, and she found herself in a room that was completely white. A big table, walls without anything on them, and a few chairs that were also white was all that surrounded her and filled the room.

"Whose room is this?" asked Kairi out loud. It was not like there was anyone there to answer the question, but she had the feeling that it was better than just wondering.

Deep in her subconscious, a voice was saying "My own," but that couldn't possibly be true. She had never seen this room before.

Kairi moved abruptly around 180° degrees as she sensed someone. Some...thing...was there. It was unable to say what it was at all, or if it was even dangerous, but it did clearly emit a message.

Kairi could...feel that something was trying to grab her hand, to drag her away. Instantly, a voice drove into her head, and she could hear the agony in it.

"_Help me...please!" _

Drenched in sweat, Kairi woke up, breathing heavily and looking around. It was very late at night and pitch black in her room. "That was a bit too realistic for a dream..."

Her room wasn't really all that stuffy—a wardrobe, although most of her clothes looked just the same, a computer on a table, and a bit of decoration. Nothing much, but she felt at home here. Quietly opening the door, Kairi snuck to the stairs, looking down. The lights were off, so Tifa and Aerith must have already gone to bed.

Well, that was to be expected. The young girl decided to just sleep a bit more, feeling still exhausted.

"A bit more can't hurt...it's not like I would get away lightly if they caught me, going to practice in the middle of the night..."

Back in her room, she changed into something more comfortable—a white shirt from Tifa, long enough to cover her to almost the knees, and went to bed.

--Valiant Hearts---

In an entirely different place, evil plans were put into action.

"Did we hide everything thoroughly enough?" A man with blond hair and a friendly expression asked another that had an eyepatch and gray hair. Both were wearing black robes. They must have been related to the unknown silver monsters.

The one with the eyepatch just nodded and started to smirk. "We'll use this to expose all of the traitors inside the Organization. Marluxia and his pawns will face their end defending this deserted place, believing we are still in the dark about their plans." His voice was like poison, sharp and evil. There was no doubt that they had caught knowledge of what Hollow Bastion was planning.

The blond shrugged and looked at the ground. It wasn't his style to let others do his work, but in this case, it was an order directly from him. There was no choice but to obey if he didn't want to be one of the ones left behind to die in this worthless place.

"Let's go. I actually don't want to be here when the horde from Hollow Bastion invades this place. I really doubt Marluxia will stand a chance. It'll be like five versus...how many are there? Well, it doesn't really matter. Even if Marluxia wins through some miracle, there's—"

The blond moved around, thinking he had heard something. He then put up his hood and vanished into the darkness. After a short while and without comment, the other followed him.

End of Chapter I


	2. The Presence I feel

Author note: This Chapter has been grammatically reworked, to make it clearer and more fitting with the rest of the story. A big thanks to Airen for the work on this.

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter II

_The Presence I Feel_

Back in Hollow Bastion, Kairi had just woken up and was a bit confused by last night's dream, and started looking for her cell phone.

After seeing the clock and carefully looking a second time, the girl jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed so she could get on her way to the meeting point down in the canyon. She, of all people, had overslept. And not by just a bit.

"Ah, Yuffie's totally gonna pick on me for being a sleepyhead."

Kairi rushed through the residential sector of Hollow Bastion, through the rough alley that connected the residential quarters with the Castle and the maw, and made it finally to the point where the recently unblocked keyhole portal was.

All of them stood before the portal. The universal links between worlds that only a single person and the Keyblade, along with a machine built by Cid, could open for a limited time. Each world had several of these gateways to make traveling between the worlds possible. It was the one and only way to leave a world or enter one. The unknown enemy probably didn't possess knowledge of this. The portal itself was just about as big as the fist of a grown man, therefore they were hard to find.

None of them said anything about Kairi being late. Aerith had probably informed everyone that the red-haired girl had been training nonstop for the past few days. Still a bit embarrassed, she looked at the others, and all of them gave her a short nod.

Kairi pointed her Keyblade, the Oathkeeper, toward the portal. For the blink of an eye nothing happened, but then the Keyblade emitted a small ray of light that flowed into the shimmering portal. The gateway grew and grew until it was the size of a barn door, big enough to let three of them pass side by side.

The path between worlds was a narrow one that didn't allow one to stray from it. It looked like a window that would lead into the darkness between the worlds itself.

First to go through was a miserable-looking Cloud, who had been found by Tifa at the last moment. He was followed by Cid, who was armed with a lance, a bag full of explosives, and other technical things. Next was the pair of Yuffie, who looked very excited, and Leon, who had the usual silent pondering expression. Last were Tifa and Aerith, who had the job of protecting Kairi in case of an emergency.

The corridor was extraordinarily long, but the most unusual thing was that there were no enemies, no Heartless, nothing along the way whatsoever. Since the paths were unprotected and out in the dark, they were usually filled with Heartless.

It was Tifa who first noted the emptiness of the path.

"Is it just me, or does this feel wrong? Usually Kairi and one of us have to slaughter through legions of weak Heartless who downright cling to those paths, waiting to enter a world."

Not one of them responded. The answer was obvious.

After a timeless period—it could have been hours, or just a few minutes, for outside the worlds there existed no true time—they arrived in a world that looked different from anything any of them had ever seen.

It resembled a big town that was much further advanced in technology than even Hollow Bastion, but was seemingly deserted. There was no sign of life or movement as far they could see. According to Yuffie, there should have been hordes of the white creatures she had described. Yet there was nothing.

They all looked around, not too far away from the portal, but couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled those beings. The black-haired ninja was on a rampage and started to swear that she hadn't made it all up. Aerith, true to nature, reassured her. Yuffie wasn't the kind of girl who made such stories up just to get attention. Well…maybe she was. But this was real. It just seemed weird that nothing was there.

"Maybe it's a trap," noted Leon, looking over to Yuffie.

"They probably found out a spy was here and deserted the place," mumbled Tifa, loud enough to let Yuffie hear it.

"So you're saying it's my fault? That I wasn't discreet enough? That I failed the mission?" snapped the black-haired girl.

Nobody said anything. Kairi wanted to comfort her, but she wasn't really happy about the fact that they'd all come here for nothing.

Yuffie ran away in a fury, tears in her eyes, and Aerith sent Tifa a disapproving glare. As her assigned partner, Leon had no choice but to go after her. After another sigh, he slowly walked after the hurt woman.

In the meantime, Cid had vanished somewhere else, probably looking for a computer terminal of some sort to access the technology here. If there was something new in terms of technology, the smoking man was like a wild beast. There was no chain or leash that could hold him back.

There was no sign of Cloud whatsoever. Most likely he had gone to look around, or more precisely, looking for a trace of his arch-nemesis.

Tifa and Aerith sighed, kind of disgusted that everyone was so careless and excited about this place, and stood still for a moment as they realized that even Kairi had vanished. Both of them were standing not too far away from the portal that had already closed, and so they began to look around. There was absolutely nothing here. It seemed more than just weird that this place was so empty. Both women slowly walked further into the weird world, in the direction of a skyscraper.

It was then that Tifa uttered those famous last words.

"Well, this place seems deserted. I highly doubt they will get into any danger."

Just seconds later, something triggered her evasive sense and she realized that she should have known better than to say that there was no danger lurking around here.

More out of intuition than anything, Tifa jumped to her right, and in the blink of an eye something passed by the place she had been standing an instant before. That was no coincidence. They had been waiting for the group to split up.

Something had pierced the ground.

"Knives…damn it, we've been had," swore Tifa, and she glanced around to find the perpetrator of the attack.

Aerith was confused for a moment, but when she saw the knives still crackling with electricity, the woman knew immediately what was going on. Unfortunately she had a problem of her own that prevented her from looking for the aggressor who had ambushed Tifa.

A storm of flower petals was coming towards her at a rapid speed. There was no doubt in her mind that those weren't normal flower petals. Aerith blocked them barely in time with a quickly recited Firega spell, but the impact was strong enough to send her flying, giving the other attacker the opportunity to start their own fight with Tifa.

A woman, blond-haired, and dressed in the same black robes that Yuffie had described, was aiming at the martial arts specialist with another pair of knives that emitted enough electricity to make it visible to the naked eye.

"Zexion was right. These intruders are no amateurs. She was able to dodge my attack solely based on instinct!" the blonde told her partner over her shoulder.

Aerith was standing again. She first shielded herself with a reflect spell, then looked to see who had sent that huge petal storm.

A man with the most evil and twisted face she had ever seen was floating above her, aiming his next attack. He had wild, unkempt hair of a faint pink color, wielded a enormous scythe, and had a smirk that would cause normal people to fall ill.

"Do not worry. These are just small fries. The Superior will be pleased if we dispatch them. He will have trust in us again, and then our plan will succeed," said the man. His voice was sharp and poisonous, even disgusting to the ears of the women.

This wasn't looking too good.

Tifa, in the meantime, had launched her first brutal punches and kicks onto the fragile-looking woman. Surprised by the speed and force the black-haired woman put into action, she tried to put some distance between Tifa and herself, but failed. She wouldn't have stood a snowball's chance in hell against Tifa if she hadn't been able to float.

"Larxene, what the hell are you doing?! Kill her at once!" roared the scythe-wielding man.

"That's easier said than done, Marluxia! She's like some ridiculous speed and power monster!" the woman yelled back.

Larxene fled in direction of the skyscraper and upwards. She couldn't reach Tifa with her knives from here, but she could think over how to fight against such a deadly combination of speed and force.

Aerith had her own problems. The man—his name seemed to be Marluxia—had extraordinary spell power and seemed to wield his weapon just as excellently. However, he did not show even a single sign of defense magic. He had to avoid all of the attack spells that she sent against him.

Aerith dominated the fight. Marluxia wasn't able to fully penetrate her reflect spell, and seemed not to have any defensive magic himself. One clean hit from a powerful Firaga and he would probably bite the dust.

Which was easier said than done. Not only was he floating through air like a bird, he also had too much speed for Aerith to hit him with any given spell. She desperately looked for a opening but couldn't find one. Her only hope was to hold out until Tifa had finished her fight and kept the man busy so that she could aim with a very strong spell like Ultima or something similar.

Much further away, something similar was going on. Deep in the Castle, way beyond the skyscraper, Cid had penetrated quite a few security locks. He had found a room full of electronic devices, with side rooms and even a way upstairs. He had managed to access a computer terminal and had already broken the security passwords. The blond was actually downloading the complete database of this world. Current progress was at seven percent.

Not only the two women had been assaulted. A man with a giant shield that was staggered with spikes all over it, long blond hair, a really displeased expression, and the obvious black robe, had forced Cid to fight.

Since he had already initiated the download of this world's data, he was ready for all-out combat, which was why the displeased expression of his enemy just got worse.

While the unknown man in black seemed to freely control ice and sent icicles at him and even morning stars made of granite-hard ice, Cid parried the first with just his lance and blew up the morning stars.

With the proper evil-villain smirk, Cid threw something in the direction of the other man and ran for cover. The shield-wielder took cover too, but nothing happened.

"Seems you're out of ammo, cockroach!" yelled the man with the black robe, and fell into roaring laughter. Now was his time!

He took down his shield and started to run towards where Cid had taken cover. Cid, however, smirked and drew a little device out of his bag. Moments after a quiet click and a small beeping sound, a veracious explosion shook the whole castle and sent the black-robed man flying across the room, where he hit the wall.

Aerith was still par on par with Marluxia. While he had been unable to penetrate her defenses, he was just too fast for her to take aim properly. She had tried to send Thunderga all over the place, but the man had protected himself with a barrier of flower petals.

On the other hand, Marluxia wasn't able to go near the woman to get a clean hit. The moment he did, she would blow him up with some ridiculously strong magic.

"Tifa! I really could need some help here!" called Aerith to her girlfriend. But Tifa had disappeared. Quite freaked out, Aerith looked for her, seeing her not too far away from the skyscraper.

In fact, Larxene was still on the roof of the skyscraper, and the martial artist didn't think it favorable to take the lift. She was running at her maximum speed in direction of the tower and aiming at the outer wall.

"_Be GONE, damn tower!!"_ roared the woman, and set a Limit Attack on the tower wall. She had initially intended to save this up for the actual fight, but without a place to run, the blond woman wouldn't stand too long. With that, Tifa landed the most devastating punch on the skyscraper Aerith had ever witnessed.

The whole base level of the tower crumbled under the enormous force that was applied to its structure. The martial artist didn't think it was enough and set another immense punch after it, which completely destroyed the outer wall of the first two floors, shaking the whole tower.

By that time, Larxene noticed that her hideout was about to be scrapped and she jumped off of it, directly into the arms of something else.

"No escaping anymore!" yelled Tifa, and landed a direct hit with a brutal kick on the neck of the blond. Larxene dropped to the ground without any further resistance and stopped moving.

"Damn it, Larxene!!" roared Marluxia, now alone. He disarmed himself, dropping his scythe, and lifted his hands behind his head.

"I surrender. Don't kill me. I can be useful to you!" swore the man. He was hoping they were foolish enough to fall for the trick.

Tifa didn't seem to believe him and was about to beat the hell out of him when the crumbling tower sent massive fragments all over the place, forcing her to evade a big part of the wall in the last second, and she let her guard down for a moment.

That was the chance Marluxia had been waiting for! If it was only the spellcaster woman, he could still win this battle!

The man picked up his scythe and rushed with crazy speed in Tifa's direction. She wouldn't have the time to evade this.

"_You're dead, WOMAN!!!"_ barked the man, and aimed his strike for her head.

Seconds before he could land the deadly strike, something massive came onto him, something no living being would be able to survive if it made a direct hit. Aerith had fired an Ultima spell on the man, hoping that her girlfriend was fast enough to get out of the detonation zone.

A massive explosion shook the place, making not only the skyscraper finally collapse, but also shaking the other buildings. Marluxia was, without a doubt, dead. Not even the black robe was left after the magic force vanished. Tifa somehow managed to get away, but still got hit by the result of Aerith's spell.

"Are you okay, Aerith?" Tifa asked in a quite anxious voice. It hadn't been in a long, long time that she had fired an Ultima. It was extremely draining and demanding.

"Somehow, yes. And you? I hope I didn't hit you with it. Are you okay?" Aerith was no less anxious. If Tifa had been caught up in that spell, she would most likely have killed her too.

"I'm fine. Somehow. But I'm exhausted to no end."

A ridiculous explosion demanded their attention. It was strong enough to shake even the buildings around them, and they couldn't even sense the origin of it. It must have been too far away.

"I guess Cid's experiments with those explosives were not for nothing," said Tifa.

They all knew that the blond had been experimenting with explosives ever since they had sealed Kingdom Hearts. One time he almost blew up Merlin's house. Another time, he had actually increased the canyon's size.

"What about the woman you were fighting?" asked Aerith. She wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any wicked surprises when they weren't looking.

Tifa waved in the direction of the now totally collapsed tower. Somewhere under it lay the woman.

"I most likely broke her neck. She didn't seem like the type that would survive such a kick."

Unable to decide where to go, both of them decided to trust in the others. Their only concern was Kairi. "Will she be all right?" Aerith asked.

Her girlfriend waved it aside. "She is a big girl. Don't forget she was the one who beat the hell out of Ansem and sealed Kingdom Hearts."

Aerith really wasn't sure if that was supposed to ease her worries.

In a completely different area, not so far away from Cid, Cloud walked through the Castle. He was looking for anything or anyone that could have a relation to Sephiroth. However, seemingly, there was not anything or anyone here at all.

He had arrived in a totally empty room. There was nothing but giant windows, and in the middle of this place was a cage But even that was empty.

When he tried to leave, someone was standing in the way. The robe's hood was drawn around his face, was armed with a sword that rivaled that of Cloud's in regards to size. The being leveled that sword—held with just one hand— at the blond man.

"This is your end," said the unknown. It was a man, and on top of that, he had a voice as calm and confident as granite.

"I don't have the time to play with you. I'm looking for a certain someone," replied Cloud.

A weird sensation, a pressure you would only feel if you fought someone as strong as you, a tension you simply could not ignore, floated through the room.

Shortly after, heavy sounds of swords clashing filled the air.

At the entrance of the castle, Leon and Yuffie had just finished their easiest fight in a long time. A man with blue hair, armed with…a giant book, and the same black robe the others wore, was lying dead on the ground. He was wounded at several points, from both the gunblade of the brown-haired man and also the oversized shuriken that the ninja used.

They both had been taken by a surprise attack which was awfully weak. It was, at best, a middle-class magic that even the man with the scar across his face would have been able to cast. They both couldn't believe that one of these new enemies was that weak.

He had been just all talk, babbling something about a great plan of creating the Heart of Hearts, their great ringleader Xemnas, how all of the others had probably been killed by his companions.

He died after both Leon and Yuffie had had enough of his arrogant attitude.

"If every of them is just as weak, the others have surely finished their fights already," said Leon. He sighed and thought of what might happen to the others if their enemies were much stronger.

"We should look to see how the others are doing. Let's first check on the portal. It'll be fatal if we're trapped here," proposed Yuffie, and without waiting for an answer, she ran past her partner in the direction of where the skyscraper had once stood.

---Valiant Hearts---

Further away than everyone else from the portal was Kairi. She had left the seemingly usual pathways of this world and had found, way beyond the castle, a tower, a fortress. Golden in color and oddly-shaped, she had found it to be just as deserted as the rest of this world.

However, there was something that had been driving her to get here. And now, it was calling out to her. It was calling out to her to come inside, to come all the way up to the top floor.

Kairi was hesitant about this. What if this was a trap? But she felt that she just had to go there.

The floors were deserted, made of blank white stone, and pillars lined the hallways. The actual floors were all made of lots of rooms, all somehow detached by a closed door. Each time the redhead reached one of the closed doors, she had to switch the keychains to find the right one. The doors only opened if they were beaten by the right Keyblade.

Shortly after the fourth floor, there was a change in the sensation that Kairi had been feeling since she entered the fortress. It was…familiar, yet strangely alien to her. No matter what was waiting on the top floor, she had to see it.

It took her not too long until the pattern of the doors became clear. Most of the doors opened to just one specific Keyblade. There were three different kinds of doors: red doors, white doors and yellow doors. While the red ones could be opened with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, both of which were Keyblades she linked to memories of her childhood friends, the others didn't show any reaction to those.

The white doors reacted to Monochrome only, while the yellow ones only reacted to Hero's Crest.

"I've never heard of such a place…locks that only react to certain Keyblades. And why are there so many of them anyway?" Kairi asked out aloud. It was quite a weird place.

However, once she reached the tenth floor, a colossal earthquake shook the place for more than twenty seconds. Pillars crashed into the walls, making the hallway slowly crumble.

As the quake ended, Kairi found herself cut off from the entrance. It was completely buried by the fallen stone pillars.

To make it worse, some of the creatures Yuffie had mentioned started to crawl out of holes, while some just appeared out of the ground. Summoning Oathkeeper, Kairi was ready to fight.

There were two kinds. One that seemed fragile and quite weak, while the others were giant monsters, armed huge swords.

Not losing any time, Kairi started to thin their lines with Thundra magic. It worked better than she'd expected. The weaker ones instantly bit the dust, but the bigger ones didn't seem to take any damage from such an attack.

Five of those bigger ones blocked the way to the next floor. There was no way back.

With a sudden rush, Kairi hit the first with a frontal hit, followed by another line-up of hits, taking the beast by surprise. Not wasting the momentum, she jumped on its head and plunged the Keyblade into its back. The monster fell and vanished into nothingness.

But that wouldn't work against the remaining four. The Keyblade-wielding girl desperately looked for something that could be used against those things, then noticed the one she had just slain had dropped its sword before it vanished.

Without hesitation, Kairi lifted it with a Gravity spell and sent it flying in direction of the others. It smashed into the others, hitting them before dropping to the ground, and stunned them for a moment.

Not challenging her luck, the girl jumped over them and made her way to the next floor.

It was weird, because again, there was absolutely nothing. And when Kairi looked back, there weren't even the silver-like things she had just defeated.

"Something isn't right here," noted Kairi, and started to run again. That is, she ran until another earthquake made the whole place tremble. There were terrible sounds, and apparently some of the lower floors began to collapse. The only way left to her was to go forward.

The hallways still looked the same, and it must have been the eleventh floor already. And now there wasn't even a way upstairs anymore. She looked around, desperately looking for something to escape from this wicked place.

And she found a way. Not so far away, there was another door that apparently led outside.

Kairi was standing on a bridge, high above ground—at least a hundred and fifty feet. There was no way she would survive a jump or fall from this altitude. However, on the other side there was a small tower that had been built separately from the original fortress. It didn't look like there were any actual rooms below this floor in there, but she just had to try it.

Slowly crossing the bridge, another earthquake, even worse than the first and the second, shook the place. The bridge wouldn't hold another quake!

Kairi hurried to the door, slamming her fists against it. Locked. It was to be expected. But this door, although white, didn't budge to Monochrome. No matter which Keyblade Kairi tried, the door didn't budge a bit. It would only be been a matter of time until the next quake came, and if she was still on that bridge, she wouldn't be able to take cover anywhere.

There must have been a magic lock or something like that on that door. However, Kairi had learned that there was still another way in if a door was locked.

Very carefully, Kairi stood on the ledge of the bridge, climbing along the oddly-shaped outer wall of the tower, over to where she guessed a window was.

The quake came earlier than expected. Kairi held herself with all her might on the wall, knowing that a fall from this height would kill just about anyone. On top of all this, to make it even worse, the wall not far from her started to crumble.

It was a do-or-die situation.

Kairi swallowed and jumped, trying to reach the window that was about two meters away. It looked really bad, and in the same moment the red-haired girl got a hold of the windowsill, it broke off.

It was a weird feeling that suddenly rushed through her. She was falling, falling over hundred and fifty feet, rushing with terrible speed towards the ground.

Closing her eyes, Kairi waited for the impact.

However, even after a minute—and such a distance didn't take a minute to fall through—there was no impact.

When Kairi opened her eyes, she was in the same bright white room she had seen in her dream the previous night. Was this heaven? Or was this all still part of her dream? If so, it was the worst and most realistic dream ever. However, the room was the very same room from her dreams.

And no one was there.

Kairi looked around and walked slowly to the window. The view almost made her speechless. Just out of this very window was the very same castle she had been in a few moments ago, crumbling and some of its parts collapsing. It was not a dream!

But who had rescued her? Who?

"Who rescued me?" Kairi asked out loud.

And this time, there was an answer. "A friend did."

Somewhere, someone, _something_ in this room answered.

A gentle and calm voice. The voice of a girl. The voice that had screamed "help me" in her dreams.

Kairi moved around, looking into every corner, looking on the ceiling, the ground, under the table. There was no one there. Had she lost her mind?

"Is this a dream…or not…?" asked the girl, not expecting an answer, but to calm herself.

"It's very real. In fact, you almost died. You would have died if I not had asked my friend to save you," answered the voice.

A very agitated Kairi moved aimlessly around the room. There was no one here! How could someone answer her?

"Who are you? Why did you save me? Why can't I see you? Who is your friend? What is going on here?" asked Kairi in a rush. She had to know, or else she would lose her sanity.

The voice giggled. It was kind of cute, and despite her situation, Kairi had to smile. It was a kind and cute giggle, not making fun of her, but amused.

"Who I am, I don't know. But you can call me Naminè. And I saved you because I felt that it was the right thing to do. My friend's name I can't give you, I'm sorry. But…I'm right here…" and with that, the voice ended her speech…

Something was there. Right in front of her. Kairi could feel it. It was…as if she were simply blind. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her hand.

And there was the body that owned the voice! She had soft, fair skin, and from what Kairi could feel, shoulder-length hair.

She was a bit frightened when the other girl—her name was…Naminè?—did the same, touching her cheek and starting to giggle.

It was an intimate moment, and Kairi would have asked a lot of questions if not for another quake that shook the room and let a part of the ceiling come down. Reflexively, Kairi jumped back, hoping that the other girl hopefully did the same.

"Naminè…are you all right?" asked the Keyblader in the room. There no answer for about a minute.

Then, a voice in her head answered. "I'm okay, but I have to go. See you again, Kairi."

She hadn't told the girl her name.

"How do you know—" Kairi asked, she but stopped midways. If that girl could penetrate her mind, it should have been an easy task for Naminè to find out her name.

"You need to go now. A friend will—" was the last thing the voice said before Kairi felt an unbearable pain in her head and lost consciousness.

When she got back to her senses, she was being carried. "Where…who…?" asked Kairi, still a bit dazed. She got her answer immediately. It was Tifa's voice, and it was also her who carried Kairi.

"A guy in a black robe carried you from somewhere. When we found him, he just handed you over and vanished into the dark. What the hell did you do?" Tifa seemed quite angry. Well, that was to be expected. Kairi had almost died two times in that wicked place, and they didn't even know that yet.

Not until now had Kairi noticed that they were running. Aerith, Yuffie, Leon, and a quite demolished Cloud were all running in the direction she believed the portal to be

"Why are we running?" she asked.

It was Yuffie who first broke out into roaring laughter, holding her side, gasping for air. Leon just sighed again, and Cloud was probably too exhausted to answer.

"Cid totally overdid it with his explosives. Apparently, he blew up some really important generator, and now the whole place is shaking, crumbling and what the heck," answered a now even more angry Tifa.

Cid was the only one missing here. Kairi suddenly asked herself where he was.

"Where is he? Don't tell me…did he…blow…himself…?" stammered the redhead.

Yuffie laughed even harder, and Leon had to carry her the rest of the way. He didn't think it was that funny.

"He's fine. Just finishing some file download or something," answered Aerith.

In the room with the computer terminal that Cid had been working on, the whole floor was covered and lined with ice shards and craters. Not so far away was the man in the black robe, lying in such a crater.

Cid had finally gotten him with a surprise attack and had stabbed him with his lance. He hadn't aimed for his heart or his head, but for his shield. He had impaled it, making the lance stuck on it. The smoker had put quite a few explosives in the peak of his weapon. With a terrible explosion, the fight had come to an end. Nobody could have survived such a detonation at point-blank range.

His downloading had taken some damage. The current progress had been at twenty-three percent and the explosion had canceled the download at this point.

Cid himself was running as fast as he could. During his fight, he had blown up a device that was close to the computer terminal and had triggered a chain reaction. A whole part of the wall blew up, leaving quite a hole in it.

Another mistake of Cid's was responsible for the explosive that flew through that hole and landed in a labyrinth of cables, absolutely impossible to reach. It was a matter of time until that thing's heat triggered the detonation process of Cid's bomb and sent the whole thing to hell.

The whole place would take fatal damage when that generator exploded. "I better hurry. I don't want to be here when that thing blows up."

The others were already waiting in front of the portal, quite worried that their first trip to this world had been this bad. While Tifa and Aerith, in their role as parents, looked after an injured Kairi, Leon was busy with sighing, and Yuffie had passed out from laughter. Cloud just sat silently, leaned on a wall, and seemed to sleep.

It was Leon who first saw Cid, and asked Kairi to open the portal. He already knew the expression on the face of the artificer. It was the "Jesus Christ, this whole place is going to go kaboom" expression.

The whole group had heard that one line multiple times, and it was the signal to run as fast as they could.

Kairi was quite exhausted, and first off, she had even forgotten to change the keychain to Oathkeeper and tried to open the portal with the wrong Keyblade.

Cid, in the meanwhile, had made it back to the group in one piece and earned annoyed glares from everyone. He was quite offended by it and tried to justify his actions.

"Hey, I was attacked! Should I have let myself get killed?"

Nobody said anything and just continued to glare. The blond scratched the back of his head and shrugged. In the end, they all forgave him. In the end.

The portal was fully open when a colossal detonation demanded their attention. Far away, the castle they could barely see was obscured by the greatest explosion they had ever seen. Everyone looked at Cid for a second, then hurried through the portal.

Not so for Kairi. She just stood there, looking in the direction where she had found the fortress. She was suddenly worried if they had safely escaped. There was no guarantee that this world would survive this.

Way closer than before, another explosion occurred. It was seemingly a chain reaction.

Kairi, stunned by the thought that the other girl, that Naminè, might not have escaped, made the attempt to run back.

"Don't go there. I'm safe. Hurry through the portal!" said a familiar voice in her head.

She stopped, turned around, and jumped through the portal at the last moment. Just the blink of an eye later, and the next of the generator's explosions would have blown her up.

The portal crumbled behind her and closed itself. This one was most likely destroyed and could never be restored. All of the others just stood there, saying nothing.

The group looked at her as if she just had done something infinitely stupid. Then Kairi realized what she had been about to do back there. A rather shocked expression appeared on her face.

"What in the world happened just now? Where did you want to go?" asked Aerith. She had a very worried expression, and even Tifa looked rather anxious.

"That was really dangerous, Kairi…never do that again, you hear me?" the martial artist warned her adoptive daughter.

Kairi didn't know how to respond. Would they believe her? That there was some invisible girl who apparently could read her mind and who was imprisoned in that white room and who saved her life twice? Even though she had no proof that she ever existed? She decided against that. They would probably think that she had lost her mind.

Everyone else was still looking at her, expecting an answer.

"I don't know. It was just a weird feeling that we forgot something important. It felt like I was missing something," lied Kairi, and looked at the ground.

Seemingly, most of the group accepted that answer and now asked themselves if they had forgotten something.

Not Aerith, though. She knew that Kairi was lying but didn't want to force her to tell in front of all people. They were all exhausted and tense from their fights and the situation.

Cloud had already vanished from view when Tifa looked around, and Leon was still carrying the ninja. She sighed, for once thinking that this had been already too long of a day, and started to take over the commanding part. Leon was too lost in his thoughts to lead them anywhere.

"Let's go back. We can't stand around here forever, and we all need rest. Also, Cid, no rest for you until you fully analyze the data you gained. I hope for your health that there is something of significance in those files," said Tifa, and started to move.

The others agreed silently and followed her, with Cid being the last. He maintained something of a distance between himself and the others. They somewhat worried that he would really blow himself up someday. Kairi had been treated by Aerith with a Curaga spell and was feeling well enough to walk on her own.

On the other end of the path, Cloud was already awaiting the others. He was looking quite impatient to get through. Kairi opened the portal, and when the blond vanished almost immediately, Tifa let out a annoyed sigh.

"Him and his stupid search for Sephiroth. Will that ever have an end? It's been getting on my nerves for years now!" complained the woman, and just ran off in the direction of the uptown sector.

While Leon carried Yuffie to her apartment, going to his own afterwards to rest, and Cid hurrying to his computer, Kairi was held back by Aerith.

"What really happened?" the brown-haired woman asked quietly. It wasn't really in her nature to force Kairi to tell anything that happened, but this one had been pretty bad.

"You wouldn't believe it anyway. I don't even believe it myself. I'll tell you when I get proof of what _really_ happened," replied Kairi, and they went on their way home, where Tifa was probably already cooking something awfully spicy to erase her bad mood.

Back at home, the smell in the air was a sign that confirmed her guess about Tifa cooking some inedible food…probably something that would burn holes into the wall. Kairi just walked upstairs to her room and fell onto her bed, looking at the ceiling like she had the previous evening.

"Was that all real? But…I really got carried away by someone in a black robe…and I just can't think of her as…unreal. I could feel her skin, could hear her voice…" noted Kairi.

She really couldn't think of a rational explanation for all that. Why couldn't she see her? Invisibility magic? Not likely. Something wrong with her eyes? But she could see the room just fine.

To distract herself, she played a bit with her keychains. "Oblivion…Hero's Crest…Mono…no, wait…" counted Kairi.

Monochrome was missing!

"Damn it. I must have lost it back there. Either when I climbed outside the room…or…when I evaded the falling ceiling…or that black-robed man took it from me…" Kairi cursed her own carelessness. How could she have lost a keychain?

There was no way she could tell this to the others. They would blame her for being careless. But they were not the Heartless after all. Most likely, the pendant was somewhere in the ruins of that castle, submerged under tons of white stone.

---Valiant Hearts---

In a totally different place, the topic was not even remotely as different.

"Are you sure it's okay to keep that? I mean, after all, it belongs to her," said a man with a black robe.

He was speaking to a girl with fair, shoulder-length blond hair who was holding something and had a childish smirk on her face. She was wearing a simple white dress paired with white sandals.

"Yeah. I don't think she really lost it. I think it wanted to stay here, that it wanted me to find it," said the girl, and looked outside the window. Her view was that of a happy and peaceful town.

"Do you think we are safe here?" asked the girl.

The man slowly walked to the window. Standing there, he gave her a nod. Yes, this was the right thing to do. And he didn't care about his orders anymore.

"I think so. But it's only a matter of time before they find us and we'll have to run again," replied the man.

That time would come faster than he had ever expected.

End of Chapter II


	3. You and I?

The sun had just risen over the town and it was still chilly out from the morning mist. While most of the townspeople were still sleeping, two in particular were already awake and preparing to leave the town.

A blond girl stood behind a window inside a mansion. The sun shone into the room, quietly bathing it in warm sunlight. She wore just a plain white dress, sandals, and had her hair falling over her shoulders. A worried expression adorned her face, and with valid reason.

They had found out they were hiding in this town. It wouldn't be long until they came and tried to take her away. She didn't even know why they were after her. She didn't even know who she was and how she got there in the first place.

The girl wasn't alone in the room. A man with red, spiky hair was standing not too far away, but it was impossible for him to see outside as he stood in the shadows, untouched by the sunlight.

"We can't use the paths of darkness to another world. They all have been blocked. They know for certain where we are and where we want to go, Naminè."

She nodded and closed her eyes. A lot had happened in the last few days.

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter III

_You and I?_

Two entities in black robes were standing in a hall that was lined with lots of pillars and had not a single light in it. This was the private room of 'the Superior'. One of the robed figures seemed to stare into air while the other had his hood already removed and calmly reported in.

"Superior, Axel found on his patrol a weird girl walking around near facility number sixteen. He detained her and tried to question her, but apparently she doesn't know anything—not even who she is or where she came from," reported a man with an eye patch.

He hated this. The Superior wasn't one to like interferences, no matter how minor they were. On top of that, all signs pointed in the direction that she was indeed a Nobody. But one that young? And no memories at all? That was hardly possible. Not even one of the people in the Organization knew anything about their previous life. How could such a Nobody even exist?

The Superior looked at his subordinate and removed the hood of the robe. Dirty grey hair and a face sinister enough to make a child cry were his looks. When he opened his mouth to answer the man with the eye patch, it 1seemed as if each and every one of his words were like poison for the other man.

"Keep her restrained and bring her to Castle Oblivion. We do not know if she has any value to us. I don't have the time to deal with this right now, nor do I wish to deal with it in the near future. Axel will be in charge of guarding her, to prevent her from trying anything funny until I tell him otherwise," ordered the man. He turned around and, walking further into the dark hall, vanished from the eyesight of the other robe-wearing man. Silence fell upon the hall.

"As you wish," approved the remaining man.

What benefit could they possibly gain from the girl? From the looks of it, she had no special powers like all the others, nor did she seem to be affiliated with any group that opposed the Organization.

Xigbar vanished on the spot into nothingness.

"What? Why am I going to play nanny for the girl? Let Larxene do it! She is a woman anyway," complained a man with red hair to Xigbar upon receiving his new orders.

He really wasn't pleased 2at having to stay put just to play guard for a girl who didn't even know where she came from. All he had gotten out of her was a name—Naminè. He wasn't even sure that it was her real name.

"Don't blame me, Axel. It's not like I think it makes any sense to imprison her. She doesn't know a thing. We don't even know who she originally was. I never saw such a worthless Nobody. Anyway, bring her to Castle Oblivion. You are there to guard her until you get other orders."

Axel kicked after a stone and gave an annoyed "pfft." He should have just ignored that girl and let her be. Now he had to play nanny for her. How much worse could this day get?

While Axel was busy being annoyed, Demyx appeared and whispered something to Xigbar, just to disappear shortly after.

"I'm done here. I have work to take care of. You go, and don't make decisions on your own. The Superior will most likely take your head if you get yourself into some dilemma again." The eye patch- wearing man waved to the redhead and vanished.

Axel was looking in the direction of where he had left Naminè. Why did she need a guard anyway? A locked door would probably have sufficed to keep her in a room for all eternity.

With a scowling expression, the man walked over to the temporary prison and opened the door. It wasn't even locked. She could have just run away, but Naminè was quietly sitting on a chair and staring into thin air.

"Get up. You're coming with me," Axel ordered the blond girl.

Naminè looked at him for a short period of time, then smiled and stood up, ready to follow him. She didn't know where she was, who Axel was, or even who she was. 3The only memory she had was that of an indefinable voice calling her Naminè. She just took that for her name, no matter if it really was her name or not.

She tagged along without questioning his intentions. From how he had treated her previously, he didn't have any ill motive. Most likely he would only bring her to a different place where she would be kept.

Well, she didn't have anywhere to go at all, so it wasn't too bad that way.

"Say, what is your name? And where are we going?" asked the blonde.

"Axel. Just call me Axel. I'm going to have to look after you to prevent you from escaping. Don't think you would escape anyway. So it's more of a stay put and nothing bad'll happen to you," replied the man without looking back.

This would take forever. How long was the Superior going to hold her captive? And how long did he have to play guard? Why did the Superior decide to keep her anyway? All right, Naminè appeared to be a Nobody, but whose? And why did she have no memory at all?

With those unanswered questions, a boring daily life began. Axel had to guard her, and instead of just standing in front of the door, he sat most of the time on a chair in the room.

It was a plain white room. Marluxia had given them this one because it was in a separate tower and he didn't have any use for it. Only a bed, a couple of chairs, a big table and a window featured the room, all plain white.

The days went by without anything 4exceptional happening, and Axel grew slowly but gradually bored of this job. How much longer would he have to continue this? Naminè was a quiet girl. Didn't talk much, probably because she didn't knew what to talk about. Most of the time she just sat on her bed, staring into thin air, lost in her thoughts.

The blonde was not as bored as it seemed. For her, who had no memory of anything at all, the time passed as a prisoner didn't bother her that much. It gave Naminè time to think over what she saw in her dreams.

They didn't seem like they were memories she regained slowly, nor were they visions, as far as she was concerned. Where did she come from? Naminè was sure she didn't belong here, and, for some reason, when she was thinking about "home", a view of a rough town and a gorgeous castle came to view. It was the one from the dreams she had now and then.

However, Naminè had a bit of pity on her guard, Axel, who seemed to be incredibly bored. But what should she talk about with him? He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be interested in dreams. And so, they just continued to remain silent.

Another few days had passed by, and Marluxia came by twice, telling Axel that the Superior would examine the girl soon. It was then that Naminè came to Axel, sat down right beside him, and started to talk.

"Sometimes, I have weird dreams. I walk around in a foreign town with lots of people looking at me. They all seem to know me and I seem to know them. I wave at them, greet them with an unknown voice. But, when I look into a mirror, I'm not myself. It's a girl with reddish hair. Maybe it would be nice if I could do that too one day. Since you're always there, it's not so bad, but from time to time, I wouldn't mind seeing other people," the blond girl told her guard.

Naminè decided to leave some information out. Such as, the girl she was when she walked around in that foreign town 5was named Kairi, and she even knew the names of other people there. Also, Kairi seemed to be what those people called the "Chosen One of the Keyblade". Naminè felt that it was the right thing to tell Axel about that. Not sure why, but nevertheless, she told him.

Axel was quite puzzled. Why the heck did this girl have such dreams? Sure, this wasn't the best place to be, however, such detailed dreams were no ordinary thing. There was something really fishy about this. On top of that, why did she suddenly tell him all this?

"Sounds like another world to me," said Axel, more or less unheeding. He didn't have any special interest in the dreams of someone else.

"You think I can go there?" asked Naminè with a curious expression.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on what the Superior 6is planning for you," said Axel, and waved around. Hopefully this little play would end soon and they could just set the girl free.

Naminè didn't ask any further questions. That man, the Superior, didn't sound like someone she wanted to meet.

Just as Axel had said, two days later, Marluxia came, took the blonde away, and brought her to the Superior as he was ordered. He had his own plans. Using the girl would be easy. All he had to do was make her interesting for Xemnas and focus his attention on the worthless girl. It was the perfect time to set his evil plan in motion.

Marluxia had reported false information to Xemnas. He told him that the girl had a link to the Chosen One of the Keyblade they were searching for. The stupid plan of the Superior was doomed to fail, and once he had taken over, things would go another way.

"Go in there," said the man with the dirty pink hair, and he couldn't suppress a disgusting smirk. "Good luck."

Naminè entered the room, and it was so dark in there that she couldn't see anything at first. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the light, and there was a man waiting in the middle of the room.

"Come here at once," ordered the man with a voice that gave the blonde chills.

Naminè followed the order, standing in front of the man who was almost twice as tall as she. He looked down on her with a weird sparkle in his eyes, then suddenly slapped her hard enough to send her flying to the ground. The pain was unbearable. Naminè held her cheek in agony when she looked up, seeing the man standing above her.

He grabbed Naminè brutally by her hair and pulled her up. That man did not know any mercy.

"Tell me what you know. Where is the Keyblader? Which world? I want a name, and you're not getting out of here unless I get what I want, girl."

This was no ordinary human, and he had certainly ill intentions. And what was worse, Naminè felt that it would be anything but good to tell him about Kairi. Also, she really didn't know the name of that world. And she had never told anyone about this.

Naminè just kept quiet, bearing with the pain. Clutching her eyes shut to avoid looking in the eyes of the gruesome man, she was hoping that he would believe her.

However, after another order to tell him, she still kept quiet and therefore was sent flying again. Charging a dark ball of energy in his hand, Xemnas asked her again—this time not as calmly. When Naminè still kept quiet, he sent the ball flying at her, making her squeak from pain.

Almost an hour and many cruel acts later, Naminè had lost consciousness and Axel was called to take her back.

He had known that the Superior was a powerful man that didn't accept any opposition, but this was just over the top. Naminè had injuries all over the place and looked quite rough. That sort of thing was definitely not necessary.

Axel took her back to the room, and she didn't even move for a few hours. He was worried. Maybe he really 7shouldn't have brought her to the Organization. Unlike Larxene, she was just a girl without power, and if this continued, the Superior might even kill her.

Naminè had endured it until the end. It made her strangely satisfied. It was like she had protected Kairi, the girl she didn't know from her dreams. But Naminè didn't know if she could endure this a second time. The pain was just too much to bear.

Axel didn't want to turn against the Organization, but on this point, it was more or less his fault that the 8girl had to take this sort of treatment. Feeling a little bit guilty inside, he tried to think of a way to get her out of this misery.

His chance should come soon.

---Valiant Hearts---

Two more times had Naminè to go through hell under Xemnas' questioning. She was at her limit. She couldn't stand another questioning. Naminè tried to sleep, but wasn't able to. Her whole body was hurting from the last time Xemnas had interrogated her. And for the first time in her life, Naminè felt the emotion hate.

About a week later, Naminè seemed to be okay, although she was even quieter than before. It was then that Axel decided this couldn't continue. Orders from the Superior or not, he couldn't watch this anymore. If she really knew something, she would have spilled it by now.

He had gotten information that they had found the Chosen One of the Keyblade, so Naminè was no use to the Superior anymore. 9It was only a matter of time until he decided to kill her. 10He wouldn't accept any witnesses.

Marluxia entered the room, looked over to the girl who had undergone quite a lot of torture, and with a disgusting smile, he told Axel of this new orders.

"The Chosen One of the Keyblade will come to this place soon. We are to stay guard in this place and then ambush them. We are to kill everyone but the Keyblader. I doubt she will find this place, but just in case, kill Miss Little Dreamy over there before they meet," spouted Marluxia. If there was one person that was even more abnormal than the Superior, it had to be Marluxia.

Axel was about to rush at Marluxia and take his head. There was a limit to everything, even cruelty. He would not follow that order, no matter if it meant turning against the Organization.

However, he couldn't tell Marluxia that. He gave Marluxia a short nod and a freezing glare.

The man just laughed and vanished. Poor Axel. If he followed this order, Xemnas would kill him for disobeying his orders. If he did not follow this order, he would probably be killed by that group from Hollow Bastion. Xemnas had ordered him to bring the girl to another place to avoid being seen by the Keyblader. Axel, one way or another, was about to fall into Marluxia's trap.

It was this night, this dream, that Naminè found herself as Kairi again, and it was the first time that both of them were sleeping.

When Naminè looked around, she was still in her room, but Axel had vanished. Instead, Kairi was standing there, apparently unable to see her. There was just one thought in her mind. Naminè took the hand of the redhead and looked into her eyes.

"Help me, please!" That was her most sincere wish.

Whatever it was, whatever just happened, Naminè was thrown out of the world of thoughts, back in the room, where she awoke, quietly gasping for air.

What in the world had just happened? Did Kairi hear her? Was that all just a dream? Only her imagination?

But what if Kairi really was real and she had been just linked to her thoughts all the time? From what Naminè knew, she was a nice girl who wouldn't hesitate to help someone in need.

Would…Kairi come for her? Save her?

Tormented by sudden hope and doubt, Naminè had a difficult time sleeping.

Axel had his plan. He would hand over Naminè to the group from Hollow Bastion and ask them to beat him up a bit. It was a perfect plan! At least, for his standards.

And the day came. News traveled fast, and Axel knew immediately that they were there. Initially, he had planned to lure one of them to Castle Oblivion and hand Naminè over. But things tend to go other ways than people intend.

Naminè was standing on the top floor of the castle, looking outside the window. She could feel that Kairi was there and that she was on her way to this room. She really had heard her. She really had come for her!

The blonde felt a single tear escaping her eyes. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream!

Simply overwhelmed with relief, Naminè was hoping that she now could escape from this terror. Escape from Xemnas and his brutal questioning.

Naminè's guard was waiting outside the room to explain to Kairi what he had in mind. However, the second earthquake forced him to go inside. Just when he thought the girl would withdraw from this crumbling castle, he saw her for a brief moment on the window, which, immediately after that, crumbled and fell down, along with a big part of the remaining wall.

"Axel! Help her! She is going to be crushed on the ground! Please!" yelled Naminè.

This whole place was going to hell. Axel had no choice but to jump after her to prevent the girl from hitting the ground and dying instantaneously after that.

The man jumped from parts of the wall with an immense speed towards the ground, catching Kairi about midways. He managed somehow to get back to the top floor before the girl opened her eyes.

Naminè was watching the girl she had seen every so often in her dreams. But this was real. She stepped aside when Kairi got up and started wandering around.

When Kairi reached the window and asked the obvious, Naminè smiled and answered. "A friend did."

The Keyblader looked around, apparently not putting up a show. She really couldn't see Naminè.

Kairi wondered if this was a dream. She said it out aloud, and Naminè just answered her truthfully.

"It's very real. You almost died. You would have died if I had not asked my friend to save you," said the blonde, and she had to smile. It was weird to talk with someone right in front of your eyes who couldn't see you. Also, describing Axel as her friend was probably not the wisest of all things, but it was too complicated to explain everything to her now.

Apparently, it was exactly that that made the girl really agitated. Kairi had started to wander around the room. She passed Naminè twice and almost ran into the place where Axel was standing.

The next question was who she was. Who Naminè was, who her friend was, where they were.

Naminè couldn't hold it in anymore and started to giggle. It was kind of funny to have Kairi so close to her and yet she couldn't see her.

"Who I am, I don't know. But you can call me Naminè. And I saved you because I felt that it was the right thing to do. My friend's name I can't give you, I'm sorry. But…I'm right here…" said the blonde, and stood directly in front of the redhead.

Kairi seemed to feel that she was there, although she couldn't see, and reached out with a hand. Initially, she would have grabbed air, but Naminè walked a bit to the right, and the other girl reached her cheek.

It was a very warm feeling, something she would have been longing for if she had known it would feel like this. Eager to know, she also reached out, laying one hand on the cheek of the girl. It felt even better this way, and 11for the first time in a long time, Naminè smiled with true happiness.

She was about to say something, to ask her a thousand questions, but an earthquake shook the place again. Naminè was startled, first trying to cling onto Kairi, who jumped away. Axel reacted within a second, taking her hand and pulling her along in the darkness.

Kairi seemed to be okay. Naminè could feel it.

The Keyblader looked around, then asking, "Naminè…are you all right?"

As much as the blonde wished to have stayed longer with her, there was no time. Castle Oblivion was about to be shattered to pieces, and there had to be a reason for the earthquakes.

"I will bring you to another world. From there, we can plan how to get to her," said Axel.

This wasn't the time for a big good bye scene. He had to hurry before the others caught him.

Naminè was thinking of Kairi and focused on the feeling she had experienced for the first time. She just wanted to let Kairi know that she was okay and would see her again.

The blonde looked at her guard, asking the impossible.

"Axel, please save her. Just bring her down; she will be able to escape on her own."

They were already in one of the corridors the Organization had used in the past to travel between worlds when her guard vanished to follow her plea without a word.

Naminè tried to tell Kairi that Axel would take her down, but lost the other girl's thoughts halfway.

Axel found the other redhead lying on the ground. Apparently, she had gotten hit by a rock on the head and had lost consciousness. There was no helping it. He carried her away, and not long after, he encountered two women looking for someone. Axel just handed her over and vanished into the dark.

Naminè was left alone in the darkness and was thinking. It had been a unique sensation she had felt. There was something about Kairi that gave her a special feeling. However, for now, they had to part ways. At least Axel had promised to bring her to the world Kairi was lived in.

When she was thinking of her, something glittered in the darkness. Right below her—it must have been clinging to her dress—lay a keyring pendant. She immediately recognized what it was. Picking it up, holding it between her hands, she thought of Kairi. Did she give it to her 12intentionally? Or had she lost it? While she thought of the girl, a mental image emerged.

Right behind her was some kind of portal, while Kairi apparently looked in the completely opposite direction. When the redhead made the attempt to run in exact towards that way, she warned Kairi in her mind.

"Don't go there. I'm safe. Hurry through the portal!"

It worked, but right after the Keyblader jumped through the portal, she couldn't see anything. It was all blank. Back in her own mind, she continued to examine the pendant.

While Naminè was examining the keyring pendant, Axel came back, and it didn't take many words to explain that they had to get out of there.

"The next world is an artificial town. 13If we get lucky, Xemnas will just think we're dead and as flat as a flounder," said Axel, taking Naminè's hand and dragging her along into the darkness.

It didn't take them long to reach the other world. It was a quite lively but peaceful town, bathed in warm sunlight. No one seemed to notice the two walking through the streets.

"Over there is a mansion. We can hide there. I've been here before, and I know that mansion is abandoned now. It's a safe place," explained Axel, and started walking in direction of the mansion.

Naminè stayed behind for a moment, thinking it over. A lot had happened today. Not only had she met Kairi, but she also had experienced happiness for the first time. After a short look over her shoulder, she followed Axel.

The front gate was blocked by a huge lock on it, and even Axel didn't want to forcefully destroy the door. It would certainly attract the attention of the townspeople here. They had to avoid standing out for now. Xemnas had certainly marked him as a traitor and ordered the others to search for him.

"Stay here. I'm going to look for another way in. Don't do anything rash," were Axel's last words before he vanished into the darkness. He couldn't get in through the paths of darkness either. There was a weird barrier around the whole mansion.

Naminè was lost in thought. Was Kairi okay? Did they all make it back to their own world? Which world was that anyway? She had to ask Axel later. Naminè absolutely wanted to go there, wanted to meet Kairi again. There was so much she wanted to ask her. So much she wanted to tell her. It was as if she was her lost twin she hadn't seen in years. Naminè couldn't put into words how she felt about Kairi, but it was definitely a warm and welcome feeling.

Closing her eyes and recalling the moment they both had touched each other's cheeks and smiling, the pendant in her hands started to take another shape. Quite surprised, Naminè opened her eyes and witnessed how the pendant took the shape of a sword. It was gray all over, and kind of looked like a clock had been the model for it. A massive ring was around the handle, and there were three spikes on the blade's upper end and two on the lower end. This was one of the weapons Kairi had carried around—but why?

The Keyblade was light and well-formed, but Naminè had never held a weapon before. She tried to swing it around and promptly landed on her bottom. It wasn't as easy as it looked when Kairi did it.

Once, in her dreams, Naminè had observed how Kairi opened a lock with the Keyblade. There had to be a way to use this thing. But how did she get it in the first place? Was it because she cared for Kairi and it was originally hers? Or did it react to just about anyone?

Hoping that it would work the same way as with Kairi, Naminè stood up and directed the Keyblade directly on the lock and waited. That was how the redhead had done it. But it refused to work for her. Well, there hadn't been much of a chance that it would work the exact same way it did for Kairi.

Still trying to figure out how it worked, the blonde walked closer to the lock and examined it. It seemed normal. Although the one Kairi had opened wasn't as big as this one, it should work. At least, in theory.

Naminè tried to put the blade itself in the lock's keyhole, but that didn't do anything either. A little disappointed, she walked a few feet back and tried to think of a different approach.

There wasn't much of a lead for how to use Keyblades to open locks of any kind. It seemed absurd, but in her current position, it was worth a try.

"Keyblade, open the lock!" Naminè commanded the blade, and directed it at the object.

"Unlock the lock, Monochrome, please," was her next try.

"Would you please open the lock, Monochrome?" followed that, and, since really nothing happened, the blonde took a deep breath.

There was only one thing left.

Naminè tightened her grip, and started to run at the gate, swinging the Keyblade with all her power and hitting the lock.

The backlash made her trip, and she fell again to her bottom. That was _definitely_ the wrong method.

The blonde stood up, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and closed her eyes. Her thoughts were a mess, confused by what all had happened that day, and how she had felt when she finally met the girl she had been dreaming about.

Naminè had wanted to tell her, to show her gratitude. She hoped deep down in her heart that Kairi wouldn't forget her, no matter how long it would take to meet her again.

Her thoughts became clearer when she focused more and more on the redhead. She knew so much—the names of her friends, where she lived, and how she was searching for her childhood friends…and yet, the other way around, Kairi knew nothing about her.

Naminè was a bit sad that they had had to part so soon after they meet, but was sure that this wasn't the end. From here, the blonde wasn't able to get ahold of Kairi's thoughts. It must have been because of the special circumstances in Castle Oblivion that she could have seen through her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, her thoughts were clear once again. She focused her will on the Keyblade, and held a clear picture of Kairi in her mind when she directed the Keyblade at the lock. For a moment, nothing happened, and in her mind, Naminè asked the Keyblade to help her.

A slight ray of light emerged from the peak of the Keyblade, flowing into the hindrance that blocked their way in the mansion and unlocked it. When the huge metal lock fell to the ground, Naminè started and took a step back. It really had worked.

It was then that Axel came back and saw the girl standing in front of the now-opened gate, holding the weapon that was similar to what the Keyblade girl had been using.

"How did you get that?" asked the man, and scratched his head.

"Kairi must have lost it. I found in on the path we were using after you left," said the girl, smiling.

It was a precious keepsake from Kairi, and no matter what, she would not give it away to anyone.

The rest of the day was spent in peace. The Organization wouldn't be able to catch up that fast, and so Axel was quite at ease, mostly sitting around and thinking about what to do now. He didn't have much success with that and fell asleep all the time, much to Naminè's annoyance.

There wasn't much to do, so Naminè wandered around and looked at the mansion. It was very old and run down, but it was much better than Castle Oblivion. She was free to look at whatever she found. In one of the rooms on the first floor, she even found a block of white paper and a few various colored pens. The Keyblade had returned to the shape of a key ring pendant. She didn't really know how to change the shape of it; it was more an intuitive kind of thing.

Naminè was sitting in the living room on a small stool, watching outside the window and drawing the scenery, when Axel came to her.

"Naminè, I don't know how long I'll be able to protect you from the Organization. They most likely know I made a run for it with you, and they won't tolerate that," said the man, scratching his forehead.

How the hell should he explain this? Or, even worse, what the hell was he supposed to do if she just declined that idea? But he had to try nevertheless.

"Naminè, I don't know how to say this, but you've got to learn how to defend yourself. I don't know if that's going to be an easy matter, but it's just irresponsible otherwise," said Axel and sighed.

Naminè was all but excited. She finally made it away from Xemnas and Marluxia, and now she had to learn to fight? She didn't like that thought and was about to object when she remembered that she now had a Keyblade. Kairi would certainly be happy to see she could use it at least a little.

"But I'm not really cut out to run around and swing a Keyblade, Axel. I can't do that like Kairi," said Naminè and looked at the former guard.

"Well, it's not like there is only the direct confrontation of the enemy. Like, Larxene uses electric knives and Demyx—ah, you don't know those two…um…let's see…if you're weak in physical combat, you've got to beat the enemy by superior tactics or intelligence. I'm pretty sure you can do that," explained Axel, and grinned.

Naminè wasn't really sure if that was such a good idea. She had never, not once, really fought against anything. And now, out of the blue, this? However, on one side, she somewhat wanted to show Kairi she wouldn't be a hindrance. On the other side…it was not fair to rely on others all the time.

She gave the redhead a short nod and focused her mind again on her most precious moment with Kairi in Castle Oblivion. It didn't take long, and the Keyblade she had found with the name "Monochrome" engraved on the hilt had taken shape. Naminè looked expectantly at Axel, who was still amazed that the girl could use a Keyblade. As far as his knowledge was concerned, the Keyblade refused to work for Nobodies.

"Well, for starters, try to make a horizontal and vertical swing with it," said the man, starting the combat lecture.

Naminè was right. She was definitely not cut out for close combat. The first swing made her trip, and she almost crashed into an old table. Axel had to facepalm and tried to think of something different.

If the girl was indeed a Nobody, she must have the ability to use magic. That was the one thing the stronger Nobodies had in common. Although Larxene and Demyx were much, much better than he was, he had to suffice. Magic was not something where you had to have a strong body to use it efficiently. The mind was much more important.

After the second try, the vertical swing, Naminè almost fell and Axel called her off. There was no way this girl would ever learn to fight properly with a weapon.

"We'll try something different. Focus your mind on the…Keyblade, and try to imagine a flame as hot and wild as possible. The bigger the better," explained the man, and waited for Naminè to follow the instruction.

First, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing at all. While the blonde tried with all her might to imagine a flame, her thoughts drifted over to Kairi. Naminè immediately relaxed upon that, and swiftly opened her eyes when Axel shouted something.

"Uh, who would expect her to get a grip of it that fast? Gah, hot, hot, hot, shoot!" yelled the man and tried to put out the fire on his robe. Apparently, Naminè had used a fire spell intuitively and had set Axel on fire.

"Oh, I- I'm sorry, Axel," giggled the girl. It was just too funny watching how the man tried desperately to erase the fire from his robe.

"All right, all right, it seems you got it. Now, I'm gonna go and take cover while you try to do that again. This time, aim at that almost ancient candle over there. That won't burn even if I were to put an inferno on it," said Axel, and took cover behind an armchair.

The lecture continued for almost another thirty minutes before Naminè finally had managed to hit the candle with a fireball. There were several scorch marks on the wall, the ceiling, and another armchair had lost its life upon her tries.

In the end, Naminè knew how to do it in theory. First you had to focus on the magic self. Second was to focus on your target. Last was to channel your mind force through the converter—in this case, the Keyblade.

"That's way more than enough for today. But that's long not enough to hold off someone from the Organization. But you've got talent, for real. Now, please, put away the Keyblade, and don't try to burn down the house, okay?" sighed Axel, and after looking around, he left the room.

Naminè was proud. She had managed to use fire magic, and for someone who had never even been interested in fighting, that was a big deal.

Finally finished with the "lecture", Naminè picked up the block of paper and continued to draw the outside. The sun was already deep on the horizon and bathed the room in a warm, reddish light.

"I wonder what Kairi 14is doing right now," said the blonde to herself.

The day ended without any further events. While Axel slept in the last unburned armchair, Naminè found herself a bed that was still in pretty good shape on the first floor.

The night was, at least for the girl, a restless one. Her thoughts about Kairi just wouldn't vanish, and she still looked every now and then at the key ring pendant that was lying beside her on her pillow.

Two blue eyes were fixed on the ceiling, unable to rest and let the girl sleep. When would she meet Kairi again? Was she even okay? She had to explain a thousand things. And even if Kairi only followed her call for help out of curiosity, she still had come, regardless what her reason had been. She even climbed that ridiculous Castle, and then, there was _that_ moment.

"I wonder if she's noticed that one of her pendants are missing. I wonder if it wanted me to find it on purpose. Couldn't be, right?" giggled the girl as she turned around. It was still there.

But what if Monochrome really had decided to stay with her? Had such a key ring pendant really a mind of its own? And why would it want to stay with her anyway? She wasn't a fighter, and even if she had learned fire magic today, she was still far, far away from what Kairi was being able to do.

"So, why?" pondered the girl, fixating her eyes on the Monochrome pendant.

Maybe it was to bring her back to Kairi. Maybe there was really something such as fate? She had no explanation for what happened, and probably would never get one. But one thing was certain. She would not let go of it. She would return it to Kairi, or maybe even keep it.

Lost in thought, the girl fell asleep without noticing.

The next day was 15full of more lectures about how to use fire magic, since that was all Axel could do. Sure enough, the Organization already knew where they were hiding, and soon would try to get him. But Naminè didn't know that. He wouldn't spill the beans. Not until it was unavoidable.

Naminè was standing just a few feet away, looking outside the window, Monochrome held in her hands. She refused to let go of it for even the slightest moment. It was her precious keepsake from Kairi, the girl that had come for her.

"Are you sure it's okay to keep this? I mean, after all, it belongs to her," said Axel. He was a bit worried about Naminè being so fixated on this Keyblade.

Naminè stood there, smirking like a little kid, and waved Monochrome around.

"Yeah. I don't think she really lost it. I think it wanted to stay here, that it wanted me to find it," replied the blonde.

She looked outside the window. The sun was high on the sky, and shone into the room, bathing the room into warm light. The town was still peaceful. There was no sign of the Organization.

"Say, Axel, do you think we are safe here?" Naminè asked the former guard.

Axel stood up and walked slowly over to where Naminè was standing. He was standing right beside her, looking at the same peaceful town she saw, and gave her a nod. This had become his job. It was also the right thing to do for him. He would bring her to Hollow Bastion, no matter what.

"I think so. But it's only a matter of time before they find us and we have to run again. And it won't be easy to hide from them. The Organization has a lot of spies," complained Axel, and sighed.

"I'm counting on you, Axel," said Naminè, and smiled at him.

The rest of the day was, as far as it concerned those two, normal. Naminè practiced the usage of fire magic and Axel tried to collect information on the Organization movements.

---Valiant Hearts---

A room, covered in dust, fragments of pillars, and still as dark as ever, was the former hall of empty melodies. In the middle of all the chaos stood a man with dirty grey hair, looking quite displeased. He wore the same black robe as the other entity in the room, which stood right beside him. Wearing the same black robe, he had his face covered by the hood of the robe.

"What is it, Xigbar?" asked the first man. The voice was colder than ice.

"Superior, we found out where Axel is hiding. He took the girl with him. He betrayed the Organization, just as Marluxia did."

"Good. Kill him. Kill the girl also. We do not need her anymore. We know now who the Chosen of the Keyblade is, and where she lives. We will have her work for us. If inevitable, wipe out the whole world. I will not accept failure this time. Take Demyx and Saix with you. Use whatever means necessary," the man ordered his subordinate.

The first man vanished into the darkness, and the other stood up, and revealed his face, looking even more displeased than the one that had just vanished.

"That Axel. He should have known better than that," were the last words that echoed through the room before he left.

Not much later, and not so far away, in Saix's personal chamber, they were discussing how to kill Axel.

"Why do I always have to do those kinds of jobs?" complained a blond man. He was holding a giant blue musical instrument that was very similar to a guitar.

One of the other two had his hood still up, and the third was Xigbar, who looked incredibly displeased.

"Quiet, Demyx. It's an order from the Superior, and I will not bear with your complaining. Now, for the plan."

The second man, the face hidden under his robes hood, started to speak. It was a deep voice, one that even gave Xigbar chills sometimes.

"We will block the paths of that world with the summoner- and berserker-class Nobodies. There are only three paths: one to this world which he can't use, one to Hollow Bastion, and one to that stronghold of those weird creatures," summarized the man.

"And who is going to kill Axel and the girl? I don't want to do it. That's more like a job for Saix here. Or you do it, Xigbar." Demyx continued to complain

Xigbar gave him an icy glare and sighed.

"I will do it. You two are more of a backup anyway. If Axel shows resistance, we're going to overrun the world. We will not leave a single witness," concluded Xigbar.

It was all but looking good for Naminè and Axel.

End of Chapter III

1) Changed "would seem" to "seemed."

2) Changed "He really wasn't pleased to stay put" to "He really wasn't pleased at having to stay put."

3) Changed "All memory" to "The only memory."

4) I added on "happening" here because "exceptional" sounded weird because it had nothing to modify.

5) Changed "had the name" to "was named." "Had the name" is a little awkward.

6) "Has for plans with you" is another awkward bit, so I changed it to "is planning for you."

7) This was originally "shouldn't have brought her along", but I changed it to "shouldn't have brought her to the Organization" just to clear it up. Just putting "along" sounds really vague.

8) This is another vague bit. It's not grammatically incorrect, it's just unclear. It was originally "the girl had to take this" but I added on "sort of treatment". I hope that's okay by you.

9) I changed "It was only a question of time until he would decide to kill her" to "It was only a matter of time until he decided to kill her."

10) Changed "He didn't accept any witness" to "He wouldn't accept any witnesses."

11) I wasn't sure what you meant by "for the first time since long" so I changed it to "for the first time in a long time."

12) Changed "on intention" to "intentionally."

13) Changed "when" to "if."

14) Changed "does" to "is doing."

15) Here you originally used "embossed with" and I wasn't sure what you were trying to say since "emboss" means to stamp something with a pattern, and we usually emboss paper, not days. I changed it to "full of" since that sounded correct.


	4. Peaceful Lives, right?

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter IV

_The confrontation I fear_

Part I

_Peaceful Lives..., right?_

"Wow, Olette, take it easy on him." called a guy with black hair and a red long shirt with a Dog Street label over to a girl.

She had middle-long brown hair, falling over her shoulders and bright green eyes. She was wearing an orange top with clover motives and bright yellow shorts as well regular sneakers.

A guy, blond spiky hair, a black shirt with a skull, worn under a gray vest and green military shorts, was lying on the ground and gasping for air. He had now lost the fifth match in a row and had reached his limits.

"It's not my fault he is so slow!" complained Olette and walked over to where the guy was laying.

"But you fought pretty well Hayner." said Olette as she handed him a hand.

Pulling up, still heavily breathing, he smiled and almost tripped when he started walking.

In the past few months, he had learned that this one girl was one hell of natural talent on this game. Because Hayner had lost early on last struggle tournament, Olette wanted to participate too. Soon, she had surpassed her mentor, Hayner, by a vast amount. She was superior on speed and skills, and that compensated more than enough for her lack of stamina on that point.

"Pence, I swear, you should be so dratted happy you're not playing sandbag for her, because that's what I feel like out there. It's like she's not human or something." complained the blonde as he waved around in the direction Olette was standing.

"I heard that, Hayner!" shouted the brunette back and put their struggle bats back to where they did belong.

"I'm gonna get some ice cream." said Hayner as he ran off.

Pence, the guy with black hair, just stood there and had to suppress the urge to start laughing. That was such a obvious lie. He just didn't want to admit defeat to Olette. It was, in his view, a shame to get beaten in struggle by a girl.

The next tournament was coming up soon, and there were only two days left to practice. They had to take any given chance to get better. However, after facing the fact that Olette had surpassed him, he was all motivated and eager to get better.

"He ran off again? Did he totally forget that we wanted to go to the dusk-quarter to check out those rumors?" asked the girl and sighed.

Hayner wasn't the brightest, but sometimes even she had to wonder about his messy behavior. Pence, was not as bad, but he tended to be somewhat lazy. If Olette wasn't around, they would never even come to the conclusion that summer vacation was almost over and that they had to do their homework.

"Homework sucks. And I bet he ran off on purpose. Would be totally like him." noted Pence and looked at Olette.

There had been some rumors going around that Seifer had a thing for her, and she turned him down repeatedly. He was afraid to ask when Hayner was around because he and Seifer were like oil and water.

"Say, is it true that you turned down that idiot Seifer?" asked Pence, when they started walking off in the direction of the meeting point.

"Yeah, four times. He is like super persistent. I don't even know what's so super about me that he keeps coming back." said Olette in an annoying tone.

"I mean. He doesn't ever say what's so nice about me, but just keeps asking me to be his girlfriend. I would rather have Hayner as boyfriend than him. Not like I have a thing for him either, don't worry" said she furthermore.

"Oh no! We totally forgot to buy the tickets. Did you bring the money Pence? And don't tell me you have it Hayner?" said the girl startled.

"Uh... well, that is... I didn't think he would just run off and-" explained the black haired guy.

Olette had to sigh. Hayner was a catastrophe when it came down to money.

"Speaking of the devil, he is coming back. And I can't see any ice cream." mentioned Pence as casual as possible.

"Hey guys, I got our tickets. We have another hour until the train is leaving."yelled Hayner when he was still about fifty feet away.

Olette brightened a bit up and waved at him. At least he had still some common sense left.

"So, what are we gonna do until the train leaves? Don't tell me you want to go back to training. One more match and I'm gonna bite the dust." said Hayner with a questioning look.

"Nah, I demolished you enough for today." said Olette with a big evil smirk on her face, and all three of them had to laugh.

"But we really could get some ice cream. I got some money left from helping out at the accessory shop. It's my treat, be happy." grinned the brunette and ran off towards the station.

Olette had already bought the ice cream when Pence and Hayner made it there. There was no one in the whole town that was faster than her.

"Let's sit in our usual spot with its better view and all." said Hayner and looked at the station tower.

They always would sit there, looking at the astonishing horizon. It was their spot and no one else ever bothered to go up there.

"Agreed." said Pence, and Olette didn't mind anyway. She loved the scenery from up there.

Sitting up there was always combined with an amazing view on the town. The roofs of the houses were shining in the sun, bathing the whole town in mild twilight. This was their favorite place to hang out if they weren't at their private meeting point.

"At least we're gonna finish the homework before the tournament. I really don't want to do it afterwards. I'll be totally busted. I heard that Seifer and Rai are participants too. This one is gonna be really hard." said Olette.

She was hoping not to face Seifer. His repeated attempts to confess and impress her had all failed, and he really got on her nerves. But Olette didn't want to fight Hayner either. He was her friend after all. That left out Rai, and she didn't know anything about his fighting style.

"We're gonna win this one Olette. We'll both make it to the finals, that way we will win anyway and can split the prize between us three." bragged Hayner.

Olette was looking towards the sun when she saw something that attracted her attention. A bright light sparkle could be seen from behind the trees, where the old mansion she hallucinating? There was no one living there for ages, and the place was locked and deserted.

"Guys, did you see that, over there where the old mansion is. I just saw some odd sparks. Like as…if someone did it" asked Olette and looked at her friends.

"Nope, didn't see a thing. Are you alright? That's not like you, seeing things" blurted Pence.

"Didn't see anythin' either. You're not making this up are you?" the blond guy provoked Olette.

She didn't. That had definitely happened. She would check that out tomorrow, if the guys would be calling her crazy or not.

---Valiant Hearts---

The dusk-quarter was not as lively as the main town, but it was a pretty popular place to hang out.

However, today they weren't here to hang out there. They had to look for those rumors about some wonders. Which was much easier said than done. Hayner kept stalling the group so Olette left on her own to look for the wonders.

"Let's see... one wonder was the stairs at the train station would count different every time you walk up and down... what?" read Olette from the notes that Pence had made.

With an annoyed look, Olette walked down the stairs once and walked back up, just to come to the conclusion that the stair had exact twenty-seven steps.

Most likely, someone with terrible math knowledge was the root of that rumor.

"That leaves six others." Olette thought out aloud and looked at the notes.

But wherever she looked, there was at all places a rational explanation for it. The wall that spouts balls was just someone making bubbles; the ghost voice was just Vivi practicing in the underground passage. The doppelganger was just a reflection in a little artificial waterfall in a garden and the living bag was just a dog that was imprisoned in a way over-sized bag, jumping around.

"That leaves only the ghost-train and the girl on the window story. I bet those are bogus too, but I need to look them up anyway. It's probably just some odd fixture in front of the window for the last one, and the ghost-train is just made up." said the girl to herself.

While on her way to the hill from where people could see the coming trains, she played with a pendant that she was wearing on a necklace. It was an old keepsake, apparently from her grandma, that she must have gotten while she was very little. She had it always with her and felt secure when she had it. It was a little yellow head of a lion, cute and yet somewhat cool. Pence had once asked her to take it off, but she wore it even when she was showering or sleeping. It had immeasurable worth for her, and she would not give it away.

Olette had finally made it up to the hill and was waiting for an eventually appearing ghost train. That must be totally bogus. How would a train without someone to control it move anyway?

The time flew by and there was nothing coming. Olette grew gradually bored of waiting and lay down in the grass. It was still hot out and the girl was already tired of waiting. Whenis this train going to come? Slowly, her mind drifted.

Olette stood on a tower that was almost entirely made of glass, a place she had seen more and more often recently. She was not afraid, not at all. That had been only the first few times been the case. But there was something different compared to visits in the past a significant difference, which changed anything. She was not alone here.

A voice echoed through her head. Something she never had heard before, indefinable and at the same time very clear. As if one couldn't hear the voice but understand what she is saying.

"You will soon reach the door that will decide your fate. Don't be afraid, don't hesitate, then the door will waver if you doubt yourself. While light is your horse, the darkness is your way. But do not fear that way, because you are the key that will open the door." clanged through Olette's head.

She was a bit confused. If that was supposed to be some sort of riddle, she really didn't like it. Was it a prophecy? But from whom? This was really messed up. Yet before Olette could ask anything, the sound of a train woke her up.

"What... ah... the train... must have got a heat stroke from lying here all the time…" mumbled the girl as she tried to get up.

Lately, she had been having those weird dreams, dreams of standing on the top of a tower of glass, surrounded by darkness. There was nothing else, nobody else, not one thing beside her. She didn't get the meaning of those dreams, if they really were dreams, that is.

Olette was laying face-down in the grass and had been asleep for over two hours. The big clock on the station showed that it was past eight. She wondered why Hayner and Pence didn't come looking for her. But when she looked around, it struck her with shock. The whole town was frozen. Not in the icy way, but time was standing still.

"Just what is going on?!" asked Olette out aloud.

This was now beyond weird. First that dream, the voice and now the whole town was standing still. That was way out of the normal. And why could she move at all?

Holding her keepsake in her left hand, she started to look around and not only were the people still but, it seemed that the whole town had stopped moving.

For a brief moment, she thought she saw the whole town waver and start moving again. Did that just now really happen? Did she really have a heat stroke? That would certainly explain what just happened. After all, it was ridiculous to think that a whole town just stopped.

Still with a slight headache about the very recent events, the brunette walked back to the station. And there were Hayner and Pence, standing around. Why were they still-?

"Hey, Olette, you're just in time. The train is gonna leave any moment." shouted Hayner and he, turned around and ran to the station.

What? Just in time? She was two hours past the appointed time and- Her view shifted to the clock. It was about to hit six o' clock.

"What? But.. I was just now on the hill and... I was sure of that..." stammered Olette.

This didn't make any sense, not in the slightest. But she blamed it on the heat stroke. That must be it. She had just misjudged the time, didn't look close enough. There was no way that such an event really could happen... right?

"Olette, we're going to miss the train. Hurry up!" called Pence and he ran after Hayner.

"Heat stroke. Heat stroke. Must be it... that must be it. Yeah..." muttered Olette and she shook her head.

"Weird day, too weird I hope nothing like that happens at the struggle tournament." were her last comment before she ran after her friends.

She would check the Mansion out tomorrow. The sparks, the dreams, what just had happened, maybe all that was connected together. Olette had to find out.

None of them said particularly much on the train. Olette was exhausted and the others were unusually quiet. The brunette decided to leave them be. Maybe they were also just exhausted. She just let them be and let her thoughts roam free. They would probably think she was overworked or something.

The train made its way slowly over to the main town. There wasn't much left to do today, just finishing the homework. Olette already knew that Hayner would skip that part and vanish to somewhere else, eating ice cream. One day he would explode from all that stuff, that for sure.

Pence would be a help, but his handwriting was at best terrible. So she had to write while Pence was summarizing the information about the wonders.

"We're still missing the seventh wonder. Want to go, check it out now?" asked the black haired guy.

She had planned it for the next day, but they could as well go now. That way, they would have finished the homework and Olette and Hayner could concentrate on the struggle tournament.

"Sure, let's go. The last rumor…the old mansion; the girl on the window, when did that rumor come up anyway? I've never heard of it before." said the brunette.

They were both walking through the market, towards the crack in the big wall which connected the market with the old mansion, and talking about that one particular last rumor.

"Dunno. I just heard it recently. They say you can see a girl standing behind the window although that place has been sealed off. Maybe it's… a ghost!" said Pence trying to scare Olette.

That only earned him a decent glare from the brunette. How old was he, ten? As if ghost stories really would happen. Those were stories for children, to scare them to not to stay up too long.

While Pence continued with his ghost stories, Olette looked around. She wasn't one that would believe ghost stories unless one really would appear before her. The market was full with people that did last minute shopping, and she was happy that her part-time job at the accessory shop was only from morning till after-noon, and that only three days a week. However, there was something that caught her attention.

Two figures in black robes were standing not too far from where the entrance to the old mansion was. Were they outsiders? But what would they want there? Olette looked over at Pence, but although he looked in the exact same direction as she did before, he didn't seem to see those figures. And when Olette looked back, they had... vanished. She looked around in curiosity but they were nowhere to be found. Did they enter the crack and were on their way to the mansion?

"Pence, did you just see those two... guys I think, in black robes? They were standing near the crack in the big wall, looking at it." asked Olette her friend.

"Nope. Didn't see a thing. You sure you're alright? You're acting pretty odd today." replied Pence and he gave her a questioning look.

It was not just her that acted odd. It was the whole world around her. Maybe she really was overworked. But, did she really just imagine those two people?

When they reached the crack, and the short forest behind it, Olette continued to look around. There was no sign at all of those guys. Maybe she should give it a rest. Just checking out the mansion and then leaving it at that. Olette couldn't afford to see things that didn't exist. The struggle tournament was just a blink of an eye away. She had to be in top condition for that.

"Say Olette, I've never bothered before, but what's this necklace thing that you steadily wear? Some sort of present? I've never noticed it before. Is it new?" asked Pence out of the blue.

New? Olette had worn it since before she even knew Hayner and Pence. She didn't even remember from where she got it exactly or when. Olette just... had it. It belonged to her, and she didn't feel whole without it. How could Pence have never noticed it before?

"I've worn this every since I could think of. How did you manage to overlook that?" asked Olette back.

"Beats me, I just never noticed. It's pretty cool. Suits you." replied Pence and didn't pay any further attention to it.

He had only asked out of curiosity. There wasn't any special meaning to it.

They had reached the mansion gate. It was still locked but it looked different than how it used to look. The garden, once wild and full of flora was pretty worn down. It was as if someone had been detonating bombs there. It looked pretty terrible. Olette wanted to have a closer look and climbed the gate. Once she was through, the full extent of the ravage that had been going on here came into view. This was clearly the work of someone. And it must have happened recently.

"Wow, Olette, come back. I'm never gonna make it over that huge gate. And who knows if there's someone in there." shouted Pence as he looked around.

This wasn't good, Olette didn't hear a thing. She was completely caught by her discovery. Someone had to live in there! And she would find out who and why. Finally one of the rumors wasn't totally bogus.

Climbing a statue that was standing in the garden, she tried to look into one of the windows of the first floor. If there wasn't anyone in there, she would have to go look from the inside.

But there was someone! A girl with blond hair was sitting on a little chair, apparently drawing. Olette wanted to see more, to get a closer look, but lost her grip and was falling. The statue was about four meters tall and beyond her was just plain stone ground.

Desperately trying to find a halt, she screamed out. Pence had been right. This was really a stupid idea! She was about to hit the ground and...

---Valiant Hearts---

"Axel, are you okay?" Naminè asked.

Just a few minutes ago, one of the Organization XIII members had found them.

"So Axel, you're really going to betray the Organization?" asked a blond man. He had a over-sized guitar-like instrument with him and talked to Axel. He didn't try to ambush them or kill them. Not yet.

"I can't agree with what the superior is doing with that girl. Even for the plan, it's not worth killing one of our own kind. And she is special too. So get the hell out of here, before I actually kick your ass, Demyx." warned the redhead the chaser of the Organization

"Wow, wow. Calm down. I'm not going to attack you. That's Xigbar's job. I'm just the messenger" replied the strange man as he drew a little piece of paper from this robe.

"Lets see... ah here. 'Axel. This is Xigbar. You have the choice to save your miserable ass. Kill the girl and pledge with that your loyalty to the Organization If you refuse, we will take the girl by force and kill you. You have two days to think it over' is what he is saying. I'm gonna take my leave now before you lose it. Your face looks like you're about to bite me. See ya, or not'" read the man the paper and vanished into the dark, seconds before Axel's flaming chakrams hit the spot where Demyx had been standing.

Naminè had found him after that, standing in the entry hall. She had observed the whole scene from behind the window on the first floor.

"That asshole Xigbar, that's one of his poor plans. As if he would spare me. Best joke ever." the former guard swore.

"But yeah, I'm fine Naminè. But this is gonna be a real pain in the ass. Xigbar will probably send someone after you while I hold him off. But the paths are blocked. I have no idea how we're going to get out of this." the man shrugged and turned around

That was really bad. How would they get out of there? Unless some miracle happened, this would be pretty bad.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Don't give up, Axel" encouraged Naminè. "I'm sure it will."

---Valiant Hearts---

"Ahhhh... huh?!" screamed Olette.

She was in her bed, at home. How? What just happened? She... fell from the statue, right and should have hit the ground. Was that all a dream? And why did all those weird things happen just before the important struggle tournament?

It was completely beyond her. There are weird things happening to her.

Taking her keepsake, she looked closely at it. What should she do? There must be some reason why all that stuff happened

"What should I do?" she asked the pendant.

Every time she had worries or problems she couldn't talk about with Hayner or Pence, she would ask the keepsake. Sometimes, she just stumbled across the answer when doing it.

And for a moment, she believed to see the pendant shining oddly, as if answering. Rubbing her eyes, sure she that was just sleepy; she gave it another close look seemed normal. Did she lose her mind? Maybe she was just nervous because of the upcoming tournament. Yeah, that must be it.

"I bet it's all gonna be okay. I'm making a much bigger deal out of all this than I should." the girl sighed.

A bit later, Olette met Hayner and Pence at the sandlot. There was only one day left to train. They would definitely make it to the finals. It was a promise.

When the brunette was still around thirty feet away, Hayner pointed at her and called her a sleepyhead. Apparently it was already an hour past the appointed time.

Did she really oversleep that much? Or did time play a prank on her? Whatever it was, they had get going.

Olette picked up her struggle bat and so did Hayner.

Pence was playing the judge and took his safety margin. Olette used to send Hayner flying across the field sometimes. He had been once hit by a Hayner bullet and that was more than enough.

"We'll do a three minute round. Testing your stamina. That's your only weak point. Give it your best shot, Olette" Hayner explained and took a few steps back.

Pence counted to three and the match began.

First move was made by Olette. She rushed at Hayner, hitting him hard in the stomach, followed by two horizontal hits at the legs and finished with a spin-hit on the chest area which pretty much ribbed Hayner of his breath.

Olette was too fast for anyone to block her attacks and was not weak either. But her big weak point was that she was always going all-out. She would get tired halfway through the match, which was usually enough time for her to collect almost all of the foes spheres.

However, she tried a different approach this time. It was a three minute match, almost double the length of a usual round.

Hayner tried to counter with a three-way combo on the hands and chest area but the brunette was too fast and saw his moves way before he even made his second hit and was behind him.

Taking the bat with both hands, she spun around, hitting Hayner repeatedly with the bat and then finishing with a brutal thrust in the back, which sent Hayner flying to the ground.

"How's that!" shouted the girl and gasping for air.

Struggle was a very exhausting sport, but she was really good. Even Hayner, which was one of the favorites for the finals this year, had no chance against her.

Before he was back on his feet and ready to attack, Olette continued her attack series and this time, Hayner was down to fifteen spheres while Olette had already over two-hundred. This wasn't even funny anymore.

"Ooookay. That's it. Match over!" Pence called out to them.

Three minutes had passed and Olette was showing barely more signs of exhaustion than usual. They took a five minute break to get Hayner back on his feet.

Olette in the meantime had picked up a second struggle bat. She always had the ability to do anything exactly equally good with her right or left hand.

"Wow, you're not gonna use two struggle bats at once, do you?" Hayner asked.

That would mean twice the hits to get and half as much chance to actually win. There wasn't a rule about using more than one bat at a time. People only were prohibited to throw bats or use any weapon other than a struggle bat.

"I just want to try it. Maybe I'll have a bigger chance of beating the champion if I use two at the same time." she replied.

After the break, Pence called an unlimited practice match. They wouldn't use struggle spheres, just testing out Olette's new fighting style.

"You two ready?" Pence called.

Both gave a nod, and the match started.

It then became suddenly clear that two bats were a huge advantage and disadvantage at once. While Olette couldn't hit as hard with two bats at once compared to when she could only wield one, she could hold much much longer combos. There was an obvious lack of power with only holding each bat in one hand.

First to hit was his right leg and his left hand. How should he block two bats at once? Next she did a spin, repeatedly hitting his chest area, then using with her right a thrust on the chest while with her left hitting his legs. He immediately lost balance and his defense was wide open. The hits didn't hurt at all, but the speed was even higher than before. Being unstable, she continued the already insane long hit series with a double vertical hit on the chest, followed by a finish of a thrust in the stomach and a final hit on the chest.

Hayner was practically stunned although he didn't feel much pain at all. There was not much power behind those hits, but they came too fast to react and too many at once to block or even counter

Pence called the match off, seeing that Olette was a natural talent at fighting with both hands.

"Holy, Olette, you really are some struggle monster. I've never seen anyone picking up two-bats and even fighting like hat before. Come; help me drag Hayner over there. He is still in Trance from being owned by a girl. Though, he should have gotten used to it already." laughed Pence.

Olette put the bats away and helped the black haired guy to carry Hayner.

"Did you ever do some sort of... super-secret training Olette? Because even for a natural talent, that just now is pushing the limits of believable" asked Pence as he sat down on a bench.

The brunette shook her head. She never had done any training at that. Maybe a bit playing around, but never really tried with the notion of using it in a struggle match. Olette herself was amazed that she could fight like that. It must be fate.

"Nope. Never. But that's amazing, don't you think? If I could learn to put a little bit more force in my hits-" Hayner moaned and got back to his senses, directly finishing the sentence. "—you might get disqualified. I didn't even know what was going on after you spinning around with those bats. I thought I was about to bite the dust." Hayner complained.

All three of them had to laugh. Hayner would always make such comments after he lost a match. But he didn't like Olette less because of it. He really found it a shame to be beaten that badly by a girl.

For that day, they continued the training for quite some time. Four hours had passed since they started and both struggle participants were completely worn out.

"Let's... stop for today. I'm not sure if I can even eat ice cream at this rate." Hayner asked the brunette whom was no less exhausted.

"Yeah... okay. I'm in no condition to continue this either. Phew. You really have some incredible stamina Hayner." Olette replied and sat down.

"Talk about going overboard you two." said Pence and he stood between them.

"Hey, we're gonna be as much prepared as possible. Or don't you want us to win Pence. Huuh? Huuuuh?" Olette asked and leaned forward towards Pence.

"Wow, hold your horses, of course I want that one of you two win the tournament. But if you beat Hayner anymore, he is going to sleep the whole day tomorrow from exhaustion." said her friend and she pointed over to Hayner.

"Hey, I can still hear you!" the blond guy complained and came slowly over to where Olette and Pence were standing.

"So, no more training for today?" the black haired guy asked.

"No. Or else I will pass out on the ground" replied Hayner and he put his bat away.

He wanted ice cream now. He really was gonna explode from it one day.

"I'm gonna get some ice cream. Pence, Olette, you coming along?" Hayner asked.

"I'm gonna check something out. You two can go ahead. Laters." replied Olette and she ran off.

She would take a look at the mansion, again. There was definitely something wrong there. Being left alone, the two guys just walked slowly in direction of where the station was.

The brunette girl had reached the crack in the big wall. Every single muscle was burning from the training. While fighting with two bats was very effective, it put a lot of stress on both body and mind. And the upcoming headache was certainly something she didn't want to think about now.

The forest was empty as ever, and Olette was rather puzzled when she saw the garden of the mansion as green and okay as ever. Did she imagine that it had been downright burned down?

Full of doubt, Olette tried to open the door. It was locked and won't budge a bit, no matter how hard she tried. She didn't dare to climb the statue again, so all she could do was watching the window from the garden.

There wasn't anyone. Was of this was real? Had all of this just been a heat stroke, a piece of her imagination? There wasn't any answer to this, but it irritated Olette to no end that it was this way.

After minutes of watching a empty window, she gave up. For now, she had to concentrate on the struggle tournament. There was no time to be bugged by this.

After Olette turned around and had climbed over the mansion gate, she took a last look at the windows. Nothing. Not in any of them.

"I... no, never mind" said the brunette and left. When she was out of reach, a blond girl was looking through the window, half hidden by the curtain.

The rest of the day continued as normal as the whole forenoon, normal for Olette's standardsat least. They ate ice cream, sat up on the station tower, and talked about nothing and everything. The next day would be chaotic enough for an entire week.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Did she see you?" the man asked and looked outside the window.

There was no one there.

"I don't think so. But I wonder if she knows that we're hiding here" he replied.

It would be better if not. Axel didn't want to drag the townspeople in this dispute. Naminè would rather care for them not to get hurt than worrying about herself.

"Really doubt that. I've told you. This world is artificial and so are the people. I don't know who set this world up and why, but he probably doesn't want outsiders to interfere with his project. So, even if she did see us, it won't matter. Got it memorized?" Axel explained.

The Organization had done some research on this world before. But there wasn't a necessity to tell her all that. The most important fact was, this was the hideout of someone that didn't want something to be found. And it must be something very important.

"Maybe she will come again" Naminè said and tried to remember how she looked.

"I guess she will. There is something about her... something that doesn't seem right" the former guard said and turned to the girl.

"I'm going to look around Maybe there is still a path open" Axel said and left.

---Valiant Hearts---

And once again, she was on the tower of glass.

The differences to last time became conspicuous at once. The ground was not longer just plain glass with nothing under it but the unknown. Six huge ornaments, made out of all kinds of different colors were embossed on the ground. Also, she could feel the tension in the air. It was, as if something was trying to consume this place. A feeling one only gets when something really bad is out there.

Olette had to walk around, had to look from a different angle, but the bigger ornaments were definitely the portrait of girls, while the others seemed to be those of some weapons.

There were even as much detail that her eye and hair colors made of different color stained glass.

The first she looked at was located in the center of the tower. Although she had a really serious look about her, she was still really pretty. That girl had reddish hair and blue eyes. The figure located under this one was that of a blade that resembled a over sized key. It was white and pure and crossed over a heart.

The one right of the red haired one was that of another girl, blond and far from looking serious. She was more really bright and calm. The same blue eyes, as the other one though. Maybe those two were related. She was just as pretty, but in a different way. More... graceful the weapon figure below was a different kind of the same art of weapon. It was entirely gray and crossed over a fireball.

The ornament on the left side was an empty field. But why was it empty? It was as if something really important was missing there.

Olette couldn't figure it out, but the figure below showed two of those blades crossed above a shield. One was entirely golden while the other was a wild mixture of gray and golden tunes.

Slightly confused by the sudden appearance of those ornaments, this was the first time she had ever seen them, there was something else there.

The voice she had heard for the first time earlier that day. And she was asking her.

"What is important to you? Friends, power or knowledge? You decide upon your fate. But be ware, one choice is all you have. You can't go back. Now, choose what you want the most."

Before her appeared three doors, leaving her the choice.

The first door was white, plain and clean, and a emblem of an fireball was embossed in it. Written on the door self were small words, barely readable on it:

This is the door to great knowledge and wisdom. It will bring you control over the elements, a vast force of magic for you to control. But you have to look out that this force will not destroy you.

The second door was red, sparkled with stars and a keyhole in the middle of it. This time, the emblem was two hands, holding each other. Even here was something written:

This is the door to friendship and love. It will give you stronger determination than everyone you know and the power to reach your goal, no matter how far away in the darkness it may be. But you have to look out for the darkness self not to destroy you, and then you will have to walk among her.

Thinking that this all was a little bit creepy, Olette walked down to the last door. The door to knowledge and wisdom wasn't her type of choice. She was smart but not a sage. And the door to friendship was just creepy. To walk among the darkness itself, that was certainly one dangerous path.

The last door was black and orange and beyond that, there was nothing drawn on it or engraved the emblem was two blades, shaped like keys, crossing each other. Again, the text described the door:

This is the door to power and might. It will give you greater strength than anyone else. You will be able to wield any weapon, to fight any enemy, to beat whoever opposes you. But you need to watch out, not to misjudge your power and hurt your allies or even fall to the thirst of even greater power.

There was only this one left. And it didn't sound so bad either. She just would need to watch her own abilities and knows her limits. This seemed to be the easiest of the doors, and also the only one that would suit her. She had always wanted to have more power, to be stronger, to fight even the most powerful opponent in a battle.

Slowly, Olette pushed the door open, and walked through it. A bright, dazzling light blinded her when she had reached the other side, giving her the feeling of being ripped apart.

"Ha... what... is going on... where..." Olette coughed and tried to catch her breath.

Sitting straight upright in her bed, she tried to calm down. What the hell had just happened? The bright light had vanished and for a brief moment, an unbearable pain ran through her body and then suddenly vanished.

Was she... back in her room? Or did she... wake up? Whatever it was, this was not the time for this.

Olette had gone to bed early. She had to catch up on sleep. The last week had been really busy with the preparation for the tournament.

This was the most unsuitable time possible. How was she supposed to rest properly this way? And that was not all. The voice had been talking to her again too.

Was that really just a dream? If so, it was no ordinary one. She could feel the door, the resistance of it to open. Usually, you could not really feel and exactly remember dreams this way.

It was plain dark out. It must be the middle in the night. She just wanted to go back to sleep, wishing for a plain blank dream, uneventful and refreshing.

Olette tried to go back to sleep immediately but failed. It took her another hour to think about that stupid dream of hers until she fell asleep.

She couldn't see that her keepsake was glowing in a timid light, gradually becoming weaker.

---Valiant Hearts---

The next day, the day of the tournament was finally here.

Olette opened her windows, looking at the town. This would be her first time in an official struggle match, and she was very excited. She absolutely had to make it to the finals.

Getting ready for the match, the brunette made herself omelets for breakfast and took her time. She wasn't one to get up early, and tended to be a bit slow in the morning.

Not much later, she met Hayner and Pence at the sandlot, one of them already registered in the tournament and eagerly waiting for his first match, the other cheering. They would be small fry anyway, but Olette wished him good luck before she went for her own registration.

"You're going to participate too this year?" asked the man at registration.

"Yeah, I'm going to reach the finals for sure." Olette bragged and looked around

There were a lot of people, lots and lots of people, but they hadn't practiced like slaves to lose.

"Okay, you're in the B block. First match is going to start in about fifteen minutes" replied the man and gave her a piece of paper with her number.

"Number 33, I like the sound of that." noted Olette and she walked back to where Hayner and Pence were standing.

"Hey, Olette, I just won my first match. The opponent was so weak, I couldn't believe it!" Hayner euphorically said.

"You're just damn strong from training with me all the time, smart ass." Olette grinned and gave him a smile.

"When's your match starting?" Pence asked.

"In about fifteen minutes. When's your next match Hayner?" Olette replied.

Olette couldn't wait and looked around the B block. Hopefully there was someone strong in there. She didn't want to fight a lot of weak opponents. That would just be awful for the others. Not hearing Hayner's answer, her view fell on Seifer and his gang. It seemed that not only Seifer but also Vivi and Rai were participating.

The time flew by, and her first match flew by just as fast as it had come. Her opponent was even slower than Hayner, and she just hit him with one combo, only using one struggle bat, and then just avoiding direct contact. Olette had to preserve some stamina for the final. There was no break after the preliminary rounds.

The next opponent and the three after that were just as weak and Olette started to complain that her matches were far too easy. But the next one was against Rai from Seifer's gang and also the last match before she would reach the finals.

"You're so goin' to lose this one, y'know?" bragged the quite muscular guy. She had to avoid getting hit too much. He was faster, much faster, than Hayner and would most likely just hit as hard as he.

The match was about to start. For this one, Olette already used two bats, which earned her interested looks from the audience. There was rarely ever one that would fight with two bats and in most cases, they were just people that wanted to brag in the early preliminary rounds.

"You two ready? I want to see a fair game" the judge said with a look at the brunette.

Both of them nodded, and the match was running.

With a sudden rush, Olette pushed forwards, quite a bit faster than anticipated and almost lost control. Rai was about to take her head on, and she had no chance of winning in that case. Making a swift turn, she switched to a side position and hit his legs repeatedly before he blocked her attempt and Olette went over to a thrust at his chest, which had a surprising strong effect. Did she grow some muscles over night or something?

However, Rai had lost a lot of his spheres, and Olette already had collected most of them. The match would only take about another minute, so all she had to do in order to win was run. But that was for cowards.

Rushing at him, packed with spheres, she used an old maneuver to rip him off balance and then send him flying with a six-hit combo that ended in a crossed hit on the back area.

Rai almost flew out of the ring and was stunned for a moment. Not even Fuu had nearly as much power as this girl. And she was fast as hell too. Rai had no chance of winning this.

The match was declared over as Rai threw his Bat out of the ring and therefore surrendered.

Olette saw Hayner and Pence cheering for her and gave those two a smile. That had been surprisingly easy, a tad too easy. Where did all this power come from all of a sudden?

"Could it be... that dream wasn't... no, no time for such things. I'm in the finals, yeah!" Olette jubilated and jumped on the spot.

The matches of the C block had yet to end, so there was a break of about ten minutes for her.

"My next opponent is Seifer, while Hayner has to fight against Vivi. I sure hope he makes it to the final. It would be great if we could settle who is better in the final!" Olette said to herself.

But there was now something else that claimed her attention. A guy, dressed in a black robe, was running past the struggle field. Just when Olette was about to ignore it, the very same girl that she had seen on the ornament on the glass tower, with the same weapon, was in close pursuit of the guy in black, accompanied by a woman.

Olette got up and started running after them. They would surely have a explanation for all the weird stuff that had been happening lately. They were quite fast and had quite a margin. She didn't have time for this but wanted to know really badly. She would still be able to make it back in time if she hurried.

"I'll be back in a second" she called over to Hayner and Pence.

That second would be of the long-lasting kind.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Are you sure this world is connected to the home world of the so-called Organization XIII?" asked Yuffie the brown haired woman.

"I'm sure Cid did the calculations properly." said Aerith as she looked around

It seemed to be underground way. This was perfect. Nobody would see them enter and leave this world.

Kairi was standing not too far away from said gateway, looking around There was nothing suspicious here, and no trace of heartless or nobodies either.

They had found out a lot from the data that Cid had gathered.

Organization XIII, also called Veracious, which was very ironical, considering their nature. They had been collecting hearts all over the worlds, and even worked against the heartless to the hearts faster and more efficient. They had also data on the Keyblade, which stated that it was the most efficient way to gather hearts for 'the plan'.

What that plan was, they didn't know. Cid didn't get anything. But they had learned a lot about their nature.

Nobodies are beings that are created when a strong heart gets engulfed by darkness, or a hearts shard is fused with it. In the first case, the person becomes a heartless and he leaves an empty shell without emotion that is able to move on its own. They even think, plot and pretend to have emotions, to fool others. The second case involved a special process to split a shard of the heart without destroying it. That was all they knew about that. They only knew it was possible to create a Nobody without becoming a heartless.

Kairi had wondered if Sora and Riku, both being prisoner of the darkness, had created their Nobody. They were said to look alike and have a twisted version of their personality, even have the same traits and abilities.

"I bet Aerith's nobody would be 25much like Tifa" said Yuffie and she had a really big smirk on her face.

"That's really mean Yuffie. Tifa and I may have opposite traits, but that's exactly the reason we like each other" Aerith said and started to giggle. "Your nobody would probably be like Leon"

Yuffie's jaw dropped. "Whaaat? How could you say such a thing?" she said.

The thought of that alone gave her goose bumps.

Kairi had to suppress the urge to laugh, because they were both right. What would her Nobody look like? Would she also be able to use a Keyblade? That would only be logical, if they had the same abilities as their originals. That could be the reason the Organization wanted her to accomplish their plan. But what was this plan anyway? What could they use all those hearts for? It was a twist of fate that eliminating the heartless was helping the nobodies.

"Kairi, I fear we have a problem. The portal refuses to close. Can you try to seal it with your Keyblade?" Aerith called Kairi back into reality.

That had never happened before. Why maintain the gateway itself for so long? Usually it should have been closed minutes ago.

With a shrug, the redhead directed Oathkeeper at the portal, trying to close it.

But nothing happened and that was certainly not good. If someone would see the portal, or worse, walk through it would violate the world order. It was always a great help if one or two people of the group from Hollow Bastion came along, but it also violated the world order, so they had to keep their numbers small.

In the beginning, Tifa had wanted to come along as well, but there was also the risk that the Organization would attack Hollow Bastion. Aerith had a little argument with Tifa but talked her down in the end. She convinced Leon that it was a better idea if she also accompanied Kairi instead of just Yuffie. That was enough to put Tifa at least a bit at ease but she was still grumpy. However, they also needed powerful people to fight back if the Organization would attack their world.

"Yuffie, will you stay on guard? I'm going with Kairi to look for clues on the Organization I'll call you over the communicator that Cid gave us before we leftif anything happens." asked Aerith the ninja girl.

"It's called WIC, for heavens sake. Wireless world independent communicator. Remember it." said Yuffie sarcastically as she pointed at Kairi. "You say something too."

But Kairi decided not to answer and dismissed the Keyblade, which returned to the shape of a key ring pendant.

"We'll go look around. Don't sleep on guard Yuffie!" reminded Kairi the black haired girl.

"I'm not Leon!" she yelled and made a sulking face. Why did she of all people have to stay guard? Sure, Aerith was much closer to Kairi than Yuffie, but it was her job to gather information.

It had already been ten minutes since Kairi and Aerith had left to check out the Town. Yuffie was bored to no end. There was nothing here to guard. The portal would most likely fall down any second. But the moment she decided to walk off, something put her on alert.

There was someone of the Organization XIII, a guy with spiky hair and wearing a black robe. She had noticed him when he had observed her from the other side of the hallway, from behind a corner.

Yuffie immediately called Leon over the communicator while chasing the unknown.

"Aerith, we have a problem. The Organization is here too. He saw the portal that refuses to close and is running south from where the gateway is. I'm following him over the roofs. Yuffie out."

Kairi had heard it all. They were here. That must mean they were on a hot trace. Without any further words, the Keyblader ran off and Aerith followed her closely.

---Valiant Hearts---

Today was some sort of festival in the town, so he could easily go around and look for other ways to leave this world, and that's when he saw her.

The girl he had saved on Naminè's wish. Why was she here? And on top of that, there was another woman with her, and that was not good. She looked rather nice, but appearance was something that could fool just about anyone.

Avoiding being seen, he made it safe into the underground passage those two had just left. They would meet the other townsfolk if they continued to go in that direction, but that didn't matter anymore. Only one girl had been left alone to guard the portal the Keyblader was using. For some reason, it was still open but that didn't matter either. He saw his chance to not only save Naminè but his own ass too. It was just a stupid coincidence that this black haired girl noticed him and was now in pursuit. She must been one of those people from Hollow Bastion. However, she wouldn't just listen to him when he tried to explain what he wanted. Not after the Organization had tried to kill them.

"That's so very uncool. Now I'm officially in deep shit" Axel stated.

He didn't know yet just how deep really.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Everything ready for the assault?" Xigbar asked.

"Yeah sure, oh great Xigbar. We worked like slaves to get it ready in time. But why are we gonna attack him now anyway? Isn't the time we stated still a day off?" a blond man asked.

"That's the big idea. Do you really think just because I ordered you to tell him so I would keep it that way? We're supposed to kill him, whether he kills the girl or not. Axel will not get out of this alive." explained a very annoyed Xigbar.

Saïx had his face hidden under his hood, posing the threat of the unknown to Axel if he put up too much of a fight. He wouldn't have to interfere in the fight. Not if Xigbar had it all planned out. He could assassinate Axel without giving him the chance to fight back. "We're moving out. Operation Cold Flames starts now." the man with the eye-patch ordered. "I always wanted to say that" he added with a smirk.

They were on the way to the mansion just in time.

End of Chapter IV – Part IV


	5. Clashing Destiny

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter V

_The Confrontation I Fear_

Part II

_Clashing Destiny_

"Demyx," Xigbar called out to him to get his attention. "You keep watch and tell me when Axel is coming."

"Yeah, yeah…did they ever pick the wrong guy for this," he complained and summoned his weapon, a blue guitar.

Even Saïx didn't know what exactly Demyx's abilities were, but he would get to see them. His water marionettes had brought them the information that the rats from Hollow Bastion were also here. They were the ones that did them the favor of disposing of Marluxia and his traitorous breed. However, there were only three of them, and Xigbar had an ambush planned.

"Wow, hey, my marionettes picked up some weird resonance. Whoa, wait, even two. They resemble the wavelength of that Keyblader girl. And somehow Axel's managed to lure them all into our trap," Demyx reported, and kept his marionette spell up.

It was his special ability to create water marionettes of himself to go and gather information. They could even be used for fighting purposes. It was the only kind of ability in the Organization that could be used for spying purposes; while Saïx and Xigbar had theirs concentrated on combat.

"We have five incoming signals. The Keyblader, one that resembles that signal farther behind, and two others, one with an awfully powerful magic ability, the other is kind of fuzzy. The lead of them is Axel," he called over to Xigbar.

The man with the eye-patch had a disastrous grin on his face. This would be Axel's end, and by chance, they could even take the Keyblader captive. Xemnas would be very pleased.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Shit, I have to get away from them somehow. But the darkness corridors are downright flooded with Nobodies that are waiting for me. And I left Naminè all alone, damn." Axel swore and took another jump over a wall.

The ninja girl was following him close up, ready to throw her oversized shuriken at him at any time. If that thing hit him without any defense, it would hurt like hell. Not to mention that the other ones already had caught up. They were barely fifty feet behind him and were slowly closing the distance.

"Dammit. Maybe I'll lose them in the forest that's between the mansion and the town." Axel swore again.

This was not looking good.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Yuffie! Where is he running?" Kairi shouted to the ninja who was jumping from roof to roof, having the Organization member continuously in her watch.

"There is this big ass wall at the end of this alley. There is like some crack on it. He must have his hideout or something behind there. I have no idea what's behind the wall!" Yuffie shouted back, not turning her eyes away from the man in the black robe.

It was only a matter of seconds until she had to jump down, because the alley was about to end in a big plaza. Aiming as well as she could, she threw her shuriken after Axel, nearly hitting him.

"Kairi, pick that up for me, okay?!" she shouted, and took a detour about another roof to get down.

"What am I, her personal delivery service?" Kairi complained, but nevertheless picked up the ninja's weapon.

"You know how Yuffie is, Kairi. She would do the same for you," Aerith assured the Keyblader.

"I know. We have to catch up with him. I don't want to lose his trail," Kairi said, and gave Aerith a nod and stopped.

"This will only take a second, dear," Aerith said, and cast a spell.

"_Time which flows, let us walk beyond your chains,_" she recited.

The spell took effect immediately and they both continued the pursuit of the Organization XIII member with at least twice the speed. Sadly, this spell only lasted for about twenty seconds.

They had almost caught up when Axel vanished through the crack in the wall and Yuffie had joined up.

"Here, your shuriken." Kairi then threw it to Yuffie while running.

"Thanks a lot. Now let's catch him. Leon will pick on me for ages if we let him get away," Yuffie replied.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Where did she go?"

Olette was looking around. The man in the black robe had appeared and was being chased by the very same girl from the glass tower ornament, the town itself was frozen, and on top of all this, now she had lost the trail of where those people were running to.

But there was only one place likely to be of interest for those weird people. The girl would surely know what was going on with her. The Struggle tournament couldn't go on anyway with everything frozen, so she continued her pursuit of the girl.

"What's up with this today?" she asked and took the pendant in her hand.

It was warm and a feeling of power ran through her. And Olette knew that she had to keep going, for whatever reason. She had to know who those people were, had to know what those recent events were all about.

She would have had been better off not knowing.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Four of the five are about to enter! The last one is somewhere in the town, but keeps emitting that weird signal. Ten seconds until they arrive, Xigbar." Demyx made his report.

"Good. Demyx, your job is over. Take cover. I'm going to blow this whole forest to bits." Xigbar laughed and initiated his supreme attack.

Just seconds later, Axel jumped through the crack, saw Xigbar floating in the air at once, and noticed Demyx and someone else further back.

"Shit!"

Axel stood there for a moment like he was frozen—that is, until Kairi, Aerith and Yuffie came after him, cutting him off from the town.

Xigbar's plan was a success. They all were in position. The Keyblader wouldn't die so fast, but he had to blast them off anyway.

"Aerith, cast a barrier, this is a trap!" Yuffie shouted, seconds before the attack of the man with eye-patch rained down on the place where they all were standing.

"_Crimson Needle Rain__!_" Xigbar shouted, and shot off countless energy-charged needles into the air, which came down like an arrow shower on the group from Hollow Bastion.

The impact was enormous and bathed the whole forest in a violet light. The place where the group of people had been standing was wrapped in dense smoke from the ground that had been destroyed.

Axel was fatally hit and fell down without even screaming out. Either he was instantaneously dead, or was playing dead.

When the smoke slowly vanished, Xigbar could see that he had only achieved one of his goals. The brown-haired woman had cast a protection spell just before he had launched his attack. However, it looked like there was quite some damage, though.

"Aerith, you okay?" Kairi asked her lifesaver.

The woman just nodded, unable to speak right now. It was amazing that she had managed to form that barrier around them that fast. But she herself had taken a lot of damage. This kind of barrier didn't just block the entire attack, it decreased the damage by a lot and the caster had to take all the remains of the attack.

"You are from the Organization too!" Yuffie yelled angrily at Xigbar and jumped right out of the barrier to get back at the man.

"So? You got a problem with that, little girl?" he laughed at her and rose higher and higher, over the trees with Yuffie blindly following him.

"Saïx! Demyx! Kill the girl! She's got to be in the mansion! Find her, kill her, now! I'm going to clean this mess up!" he yelled from far above them.

Saïx immediately vanished in direction of the mansion, but Demyx hesitated for a moment.

Kairi knew that someone the Organization XIII wanted dead had a good chance of being an ally to her.

"Aerith, can you fight?" she asked the woman.

"Yes, I'm fine; I just won't be able to cast any major spells like Nova or Ultima for a while," Aerith replied and gave her a nod.

With that, Kairi rushed past Demyx, who was slightly confused. Didn't Xigbar say that he would keep those brats busy? He was about to go after Kairi and shot off a few water pulses when a few feet away an impressive fireball hit a tree and caused a likewise impressive explosion.

"You will not go anywhere. I'm your opponent!" Aerith called over to where Demyx was standing.

"Did they ever pick the wrong guy for these missions. Why does it always have to be me? And why do I get the worst opponent every time? Jeez…I can't believe this." He then pointed at Aerith, summoning his instrument back. "Time to die."

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette had finally reached the plaza. The town was still frozen, but that way she could make it still to the Struggle finals. At least that was one positive effect these weird happenings had.

From beyond the wall, Olette could hear explosions, and when she looked through, a blond man and a brunette woman where fighting each other, shooting off things like it was the natural thing to do.

It was like in some fantasy stories, people using magic and all weird kinds of stuff to settle things. But this was real, not inside a book, not inside a dream. She could feel the heat that some of the trees were emitting. They must have been on fire.

There was no sign of the man she had seen at all. He must been further in. Most likely inside the mansion, but who were these people?

Tightening her grip on the glowing pendant, she entered the forest area, trying to pass by unnoticed.

These people were not likely to be very friendly.

---Valiant Hearts---

On top of the trees, Xigbar was quite busy with just Yuffie. She was far too fast to get hit by his needles, no matter how hard he tried. On the other hand, she didn't have any time to launch an attack of her own.

Yuffie jumped from one tree to another, vanishing into the foliage of the tree, out of Xigbar's view. This was not good. There was about any direction she could attack from next.

Ferociously looking around, turning around every few seconds, he heard something right behind him. With a fast turn around, he shot off an entire load of needles in that direction just to see that he had fallen for a trap. He had pierced nothing. Just something in the trees had made a sound.

"Shit, where is she?!" he swore and suddenly felt something on his back.

"Right behind you, dumbass!" Yuffie shouted in his ear and jumped off, leaving four little orbs on his robe.

Before he could react to this, the orbs exploded, leaving him in a cloud of smoke.

That, by far, wasn't enough to seriously beat him. He coughed at the smoke and looked around the girl had vanished again. He wouldn't tolerate this hide and seek game forever. Randomly shooting needles at the trees all around him, he eventually forced Yuffie to move.

Yuffie was agile and smart when it came to fighting and tactics, but someone that could shoot off any amount of needles at any time was quite the horror for her. She just had landed a hit with mithros, small bombs from which she had still around forty left, but it didn't seem to have inflicted any damage. And now he was shooting blindly around

Discarding this plan of surprise attack, she switched to a plan of getting him into close combat. He wouldn't be able to hit her directly with those needles at a short range. Leaving four of the small bombs on the tree, she left, and he noticed her but was too slow to hit her. She was even faster than Tifa, but not even remotely as strong. Her strengths lay in tactics and surprise attacks, but those wouldn't work here.

"I really should have switched with Tifa. This guy is a pain in the ass," Yuffie complained and continued to jump from one tree to another.

Just then, the battle of Aerith and Demyx changed the whole situation. A few trees were burning and another few had fallen. She wasn't able to float like Xigbar and it got much harder to move with every tree that fell.

Now the situation was to her disadvantage. Yuffie had to think of something and it had to be fast. It didn't take too long. Any moment now, the bombs on the tree would explode, hopefully distracting her enemy long enough to get in close range.

Xigbar was just about to fire off an entire load of needles when the bombs that Yuffie had set exploded. Thinking that he had been chasing an illusion, he looked at where the explosion came from. But there was nothing, only the burning top of a tree. He had fallen right into her trap; he of all people fell for such a simple trick.

Yuffie could see from where she was standing that the bombs had set the tree on fire, and set everything on this chance. She wasn't able to do much like Aerith, but she was still able to use magic. Charging her shuriken with a magnet spell, she threw it right after Xigbar when he was about to look back.

He immediately shot off needles, but they all got drawn to the approaching shuriken weapon. Just before it hit, the ninja grabbed her weapon and made direct contact with Xigbar, kicking him right in the face.

Yuffie jumped after her shuriken and used it to block off all of Xigbar's needles. Now, she hung on him, out of the reach of this weapons, but floating sixty feet above the ground. A fall from that altitude and she would not get off lightly.

Xigbar was struggling to get Yuffie off, but she had managed to get on his back and was holding him firmly. There was no way to reach her in that position. But he could float; she had to keep clinging on him to not crash into the ground. A malicious plan formed in his head and he started to rise higher and higher, ninety feet, a hundred-twenty feet, a hundred-fifty feet, two-hundred feet and further up.

"Do you plan to take a vacation in the sky?" Yuffie asked and continued to hold him, restricting his actions.

She had his arms in such a way so that he wasn't able to shoot anywhere but the ground. If he tried to break away, he would most likely break every single bone in his arms. Not even with his superior strength was he able to give counter to this position. But he didn't need to.

He just kept silent and when they had reached an almost six-hundred-foot altitude, he suddenly went wild and almost managed to throw off Yuffie, just to shoot off a couple dozen needles straight into the sky.

"I'm right behind you, not above you, idiot." Yuffie grinned and now knew how she would get away from this.

A free fall would be certain death, but Yuffie had a trick up her sleeve. While Aerith was master of magic and Tifa was downright a monster of physical strength, Yuffie's talents were centered around manipulating things and item-based strategy.

But before she could do anything, Xigbar suddenly started to descend almost in a free fall. The air drag put them both in a horizontal position, and it now became apparent what Xigbar had planned. The needles he had sent flying straight in the sky were about to hit them. They were at a five-hundred-foot altitude when Yuffie jumped off and prepared for a battle in free fall.

These wasn't necessarily the best conditions, but Xigbar had to descend with her if he wanted to land a clean hit. The air roaring around her, Yuffie took her shuriken and threw it right at Xigbar who got hit on his left arm, and the shuriken flew away.

"Ha, throwing away your only weapon? Aren't we a little desperate, little girl? Afraid of death, are we?" laughed Xigbar.

Yuffie did a somersault in midair and expanded her air resistance with a little trick. While doing the somersault, she threw off a dozen of the bombs she had used before. She had once used this when they had still lived in their own world and was skydiving with Cid's airship, the Highwind.

Focusing her mind on her weapon, she stretched her arm in the direction it was and did barely noticeable movements with her fingers. Xigbar was about to shoot at her when he heard a roaring sound and the shuriken he had just seen fly away was coming back.

Yuffie had changed her fighting style after seeing Kairi fight against a flying Heartless while she was bound to ground.

"_Bloodfest manipulate version!_" Yuffie shouted, and the shuriken was roaring and hitting Xigbar like an out of control beast.

His robe was cut on countless spots and he had taken quite some damage. But that was not all Yuffie had planned. The shuriken returned to her just to serve as a skydiving tool. Another three seconds later, the bombs above her gave away an explosion, and the shockwave sent Yuffie on her weapon flying on the wind.

While this was initially supposed to be a technique for fun, it now happened to be quite useful.

Xigbar was roaring in rage and started shooting like a berserker after Yuffie. She got hit quite a bit but that was intended. It was the only way to build up the necessary amount of energy. But now she had to get more distance between her and Xigbar, who couldn't descend as fast as she could with the push from the explosion shockwave.

She gradually left his range of attack and he screamed in wrath. That girl would not get away! Not from him!

He started charging for another supreme attack and put even more energy in it than before. He wasn't paying any attention to his condition anymore. His only intent was to kill Yuffie. Above him accumulated a lot of needles, a proper ocean of them. If those hit a defenseless Yuffie while she was descending, it would be fatal.

The ninja could see what he was doing. She had anticipated that he would at one point try to hit her with that, but this was rather unfortunate. Still at a three-hundred-foot altitude, she started to charge her own attack. Yuffie hadn't taken all his hits for nothing. If this failed, the only resolve left was to hope for help from Aerith—but the forest below her was already an ocean of flames.

Xigbar had finished charging. He would pierce that girl to death, and it would mean to be on the edge of nothingness when he finished the attack. Xigbar yelled out, ordering the needles to descend at an absurd speed.

"_Crimson Needle Rain!_" he yelled, and this time it was much much stronger than before. Not even Aerith would have blocked this with a simple barrier.

The ridiculous amount of needles was coming closer. Yuffie couldn't finish charging the energy till it reached its peak and would have to leave it off if she wanted to avoid a direct hit.

Throwing the shuriken above her, using it as the middle point to accumulate the energy, she let off her last resolve for this fight.

"_All Creation!_" Yuffie shouted, and let off a massive energy beam in direction of the needle rain. This would never suffice to block them all off, but the chances were high that she could get away alive.

The beam roared through the needles, blasting the whole center of it away, and vanished in conclusion. The rest were barely more than what Xigbar had used for three or four of his attacks, but they still hit Yuffie and she took direct damage.

This was it, she couldn't go on anymore. With her last strength, she picked up the little bag she had the bombs in and threw them in the direction of the ground. Xigbar had long stopped descending, and she just had to stop the free fall. She was almost a hundred feet away from where they had set off and Yuffie would crash into the massive stone ground of the plaza if she didn't do something fast.

The shuriken returned upon her manipulate command and was then used again as skydiving tool. The bombs in the bag made a much greater explosion than intended and Yuffie was virtually blown away. She somehow managed to slow down the fall through the upcoming shockwave, but still landed with absurd speed.

Yuffie was very lucky. She crashed through a glass window directly into a grocery shop. The shop was a mess, but she somehow survived. However, there was no energy left in her to fight. The others must be in almost the same condition.

Xigbar was the same. He had problems maintaining his appearance and was about to order the withdrawal. He was sure he had killed Axel with his first supreme attack and that was sufficient for now. But the girl should be dead. No way could she have survived that fall.

---Valiant Hearts---

"So…can't we solve this by reason, maybe? You're looking like someone who would understand," Demyx started to hold a monologue. "See, we are—" He was cut off by Aerith.

"If you wanted to solve this by reason, why did you attack us?" she asked.

"Well, you see, that's…it's not how it looks." Demyx turned around.

"Oh man, I told them I wasn't cut out for this mission. Why does it always have to be me?" he spoke to himself.

Aerith was a bit puzzled by his behavior, and usually she would have tried to solve this without violence, but they had already attacked them. And from the scale of that attack, they had intended to kill them.

"_People of the flames, dance!_" Aerith recited, and sent a Fira a few feet away from where Demyx was still talking to himself.

"Unfortunately, we will not be able to solve this with reason. If you don't want to fight, you can just go," Aerith told him.

"Afraid I can't do that. You see, the Superior would be really mad if I let you go alive," Demyx replied, and pointed at her.

"_Dance Water Dance!_" he shouted, and started playing his instrument.

"_Those that dirty the world, Barrier, protect me!_" Aerith recited, and first cast a barrier, followed by a reflect spell on herself. This would give her some safety. But unfortunately, her opponent, although a magic user, didn't use the usual approach.

Demyx created quite a lot of his water marionettes and had them attack Aerith. Up to now, they just shattered on the barrier, but through that, Aerith took continuous damage. She couldn't put up with this forever, and reciting any major spell was impossible with that permanent disturbance.

Aerith took down her barrier and immediately let off a gravity spell in front of her which drew all the marionettes to that one point. If they just shattered on something simple as a barrier, they couldn't be very robust. A single grade two spell would do the trick.

"_Ice that even freezes the time, obey my command!_" she shouted, and sent a Blizzaga flying to where the spot the copies had been gathered. Now it was time to get serious. Yuffie was fighting up there and Kairi had her own problems probably. She couldn't bother either of them to help her.

"How do you like this?!" he shouted, and sent dozens of water balls at her, forcing her to counter them with fire spells.

"What do you people want from us?" Aerith shouted while evading the flowing water balls.

"Oh, it's you that want something from us, isn't it?!" Demyx replied and stopped his attack.

He played now a rather powerful tune on the instrument, summoning pillars of water that he could move around at will.

"_Flood Water, flood the ground!_" he shouted, and sent the pillars all over the place, the whole forest gradually transforming into a giant marsh.

With water at his disposal anywhere, he would be at a huge advantage. Although his skills were more focused on information gathering and other things, he did have some combat abilities. And one of them would surely let him win this match. The woman had already taken much damage from Xigbar's supreme attack, and wouldn't stand another powerful hit.

"Don't you think it's a shame to set this whole place under water?" Aerith called and started to recite her own spell.

"_Great Earth, powerful force and core of life, rise and show your power!_" she shouted, and just seconds later, the ground cracked open and an earthquake shook the whole place.

"Holy, who would have thought that this woman has that much power?" Demyx complained, and now switched strategies.

The next tune was screeching and shrill. Around him appeared a few bars made of water, thin and floating in the air. Aerith had no idea what trick was coming now and began her own spell. She couldn't use her limit techniques in an one-to-one fight, nor did she have the time to recite a more powerful spell than the basic grade three element spells, so she was at a huge disadvantage here.

Demyx sent the bars flying. In midair, they transforming into edges that cut down anything in their way. Tree after tree fell down after one of those things penetrated their trunks.

Aerith could evade the first and recited an emergency protection to block the next incoming edges.

"_Saint of the Holy, protect me!_" she shouted, barely in time for the next attack.

A white glowing light surrounded her and lessened the damage she took, but mainly protected her from being sliced in half.

Now was the time for counter attacks.

"_Heir to the skies, hear my plea! Bestow upon me the power of Siren!_" Aerith called out.

An invisible shockwave clashed with the water edges that Demyx used and destroyed them way before they could hit Aerith. She successfully destroyed his bind to the spell he was using.

"You've got a lot of nerve doing that!" he yelled, and played an aggressive tune. He was now back to the water balls. Despite the earthquake spell, the whole place around was becoming wet, and soon she would have no place to hide.

But he would not beat her. Aerith had endured much worse and this fight would not be her last one, especially not against such a guy. Water was one of the weaker elements, and she now had regrets for never have learning lightning magic from Cloud. It would have proven to be very useful here.

"_Eternal force that binds down all things, cease on my will and lend me the power of eternity!_" Aerith finished the spell, and anything in a two-hundred-foot range was virtually frozen.

Time magic was quite straining, but she just had to try this. This spell only worked for about one minute and that was not enough time to gather the force for an Ultima. But to counter his element attacks, she had to sacrifice this forest. It would eventually grow back and be more glorious than ever before.

"_Hear me, oh king of the flames! I desire your power, desire the strength of the flames, and demand destruction upon the world! Opening the door to your realm, bring devastation and burns over my enemies!_" she recited the summon spell.

There were about five seconds left of the time spell, but the gateway had already opened. Although it was not the full recitation, the effect on the forest would be quite disastrous.

As time resumed, Demyx was thrown off-balance. In the ground, in the center of the forest, was a huge crater, burning and emitting a very strong heat. Where had it suddenly come from? And where was the woman? Something very fishy was going on.

Aerith had taken cover a bit further away. It would only be seconds until the summon was finished and the whole forest was an ocean of flames. Casting a barrier to protect herself from the effect of the summon that was about start working, she recited another spell.

"_Powerful force in all things, loan me a shell to withstand destruction!"_ Aerith recited.

Demyx noticed that something was about to virtually set his ass on fire and had built himself a protective chamber with water walls three feet thick. He thought that nothing would be able to penetrate his most powerful defensive magic.

And there it was. The summon, the Lord of Flames, Ifrit, made his appearance in the forest and unleashed his power. Fireballs soared through air and clashed into trees and the ground, walls of roaring flames set the whole place on fire, and upon Aerith's mental command, Ifrit even threw a lava rock on the slightly unsure Demyx.

To him, that thing looked rather dangerous, and he enforced his protection spell just before the lava rock hit the front wall and left an enormous explosion. Ifrit let out a bestial roar and left the same way he had appeared.

Demyx had only taken mediocre damage but was at a disadvantage now. There was barely any water left to summon in this now ridiculously hot place. He wouldn't stand another attack of that summoned beast, but the woman didn't look like she was in the condition to repeat that spell anyway.

"Looks like I'm in a pinch now," Demyx said as he looked around.

The whole forest was burning. In no time, he wouldn't have any water left to attack her. He just had to finish her off before that happened. Playing another tune, he used his water marionettes again.

But that trick was already old. Aerith couldn't use the gravity spell now because the recitation was way too long. It was not really a spell suited for combat purposes, but there were always other means. One particular combo should be sufficient to erase all of the marionettes.

"_Master of the skies, heir to destruction and the eternal freedom, lend me your power and blow away my enemies_!" Aerith recited the first spell.

In the middle of all this, the burning forest, the torn ground, the countless water marionettes, and Demyx apparently preparing a big attack, she created a tornado, which had devastating effects.

Not only did the fire around them become fiercer, but the whole place was full of flying branches, still burning. Demyx had to duck a few times and got still hit by those things.

The second effect was that all marionettes were sucked into the tornado. That had been Aerith's initial goal. And now she could blast them off all at once, even without the gravity spell.

"_Great destruction, devastating forces of the flames unleash your power and show me the end of a star!_" Aerith ended the spell.

A massive explosion in the middle of the tornado destroyed all of the marionettes at once. However, Aerith had forgotten that through the whole situation, this Nova spell was much much stronger than usual. The following shockwave blew both parties off ground and sent them flying.

While Aerith was still protected by the shell spell, Demyx had no means of defense and was hit by a burning tree. This battle was going completely out of hand. The fire got stronger by the minute, and even through the protection spell she had cast, Aerith could feel the heat. It was immense. It was a mystery how Demyx survived this.

But the man had enough. This wasn't worth it. He didn't want to get killed.

"See you! Visit my concert!" he shouted, and opened a portal that led into darkness.

He was way too far away for Aerith to follow him, and so she looked out for the others. Going through this forest now was impossible. The fire had become too strong to pass through even with a shell spell. She only could hope that Kairi was okay.

Aerith left through the crack in the wall and started looking for Yuffie. She must have left the forest long ago, or she would have noticed her.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Stop running away, Nobody!" Kairi shouted, in pursuit of the still-masked Organization member.

Saïx was about to enter the mansion when he was stopped by Kairi, who fired off a Blizzara spell in front of the Nobody, freezing the door.

"What is it that you want? Why do you interfere with our plans?" he asked without turning around.

"Why? Because you people attacked us the other day, tried to kill the others! Don't you dare to try to out-talk me," she replied, keeping her guard up. He could launch a surprise attack any moment. She knew that these people were not as dumb as the Heartless or Ansem's pawns. This would be a tough battle for her if he decided to fight against her.

"Do you hate us? Do you feel rage when we hurt your friends?" he asked, still looking at the frozen door.

"I hate what you're doing, not what you are. And rage is not the only thing to give you power and determination in a battle. I'm not dumb enough to fall for your little tricks, Nobody," she answered with a smirk.

Kairi would not fall for any mind games, she had had enough of those back when she was fighting Ansem at the End of All Worlds. And this was nothing compared to what she had endured back there.

"So be it, then. I will put an end to this. We don't need you anymore. You shall find your end here," he said and finally turned around, unmasking his face.

"I'm Saïx, the Blood Moon Dancer, Keyblader. And my name shall be the last one you ever speak," Saïx said, and summoned an enormous sword.

"You're welcome to try, Saïx," Kairi replied, and tightened her grip on the Keyblade.

This was no ordinary Heartless or weakling. She could feel the power he emitted. He was most likely much slower with that massive weapon, so she had the advantage of speed on her side.

Kairi did the first attack and rushed straight towards Saïx, making him believe she would take him head-on. The Nobody just laughed and moved along with her towards the center and fell right into her trap. Kairi directed her left hand towards the ground and unleashed a fire spell directly under her feet. Using the impact of it, she threw herself of into midair and directly aimed with a vertical swing at Saïx. Surprised by the tactic, he didn't have the time to react and got hit. Kairi followed with another couple of hits in succession and finishing with a brutal thrust at his shoulder.

Saïx was flying to the ground, and for the blink of an eye, Kairi thought that was already all he had. But she was terribly wrong.

Saïx stood slowly up, moving his neck a bit and making a few cracking sounds with his joints. He didn't show any sign of damage and now rushed at Kairi with a surprising speed. That guy was much faster than he looked.

Saïx first did a vertical swing, followed by quite a few fast horizontal ones, making Kairi jump out of the way repeatedly. One clean hit from that monster and she would be sent flying across the whole place.

Looking for a moment to analyze the situation, Kairi jumped on a statue, kicked it in midair and used the recoil to land on a wall.

"What a monster. How in the world am I supposed to beat him? He is almost as fast as I am and much stronger. And after that brutal air attack, he doesn't have a scratch. Maybe I could—" Kairi was thrown off her monologue.

Saïx was beating his weapon repeatedly against the wall, which was starting to crumble.

He still had a calm and concentrated face and didn't say a single word, just forced her to avoid one hit after another as he kept her on the defensive.

Kairi had to try it. When Saïx did his next vertical swing, she used her Keyblade and blocked the attack. The impact was so strong that her joints screamed in pain and she almost was crushed onto the ground, but she could withstand that. Holding the Keyblade in one hand and enforcing the resistance with another hand on the crest of it, she took up a power struggle against Saïx.

Saïx started to laugh and looked directly in Kairi's eyes. Her eyes were those of someone that was determined to win at any cost. Well, he would give her a chance!

Saïx jumped back and waved with his left hand to invite Kairi to try to beat him.

Kairi didn't take the invitation and used instead a Cura spell to heal the wounds she had taken from when Saïx's had managed to hit her slightly.

The pain in her joints vanished, but mental exhaustion was now a problem. She wouldn't be able to use magic for quite some time. For once, she would have been really happy if Aerith showed her overprotective side and supported her in this fight. This was someone she just couldn't take on alone.

"You're wasting my time. I have important things to attend to, and you're not part of them!" Saïx yelled, and stabbed his sword into the ground, trying to open a portal into the darkness.

Kairi was in quite a pinch. She didn't know what Saïx was doing, but took this for a chance to attack him. Running towards him at fast as she could, Kairi unleashed her full repertoire in an attack.

In the moment Saïx opened the portal, Kairi jumped above it and landed directly in front of an amazed Saïx. She first hit his right arm and followed with an attack against his chest.

Saïx yelled in pain. This time her hits actually showed an effect, and he was thrown off the ground. Not wasting time, Kairi jumped after him and continued the combo in midair. While concentrating hits on arms, hands and shoulders, she finished the all-out attack with a brutal spin attack against his chest.

Saïx crashed into the mansion wall and fell down. That must have been enough for serious damage. Kairi was breathing heavily then, as she had used much more force than usual to actually inflict damage on the Nobody.

"So…so you can fight. Then I shall get serious too," he said angrily, and summoned a new sword, discarding the old one that was still stabbed in the ground.

Unlike before, Saïx's face was torn in anger and rage; he let out a roaring scream and from what Kairi could see, his eyes were going blank. That was certainly not a good sign.

With a completely different level of speed, he virtually shot towards Kairi and sent her flying with a single horizontal slash. She crashed into the already crumbling wall. She tried to scream out in pain but the impact had her robbed of her breath.

There was no way to fight against him in that state. Kairi got up before he launched his next berserker attack and fled onto the other intact wall. But Saïx didn't come. He stood there, looking at her with blind rage, and then threw his massive sword into the intact wall.

Surprised by that brutal act, Kairi jumped off and landed behind the wall. As if the actual situation wasn't bad enough, a girl seemingly of the local town was standing there, holding a Keyblade and looking at her with great eyes.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette had followed the unknowns to the crack in the wall. But she wasn't able to go any further. As she tried to step through the opening, just below her opened a mouth of pure darkness, sucking her in, not leaving her a choice.

For once scared and afraid, Olette was surrounded by the darkness. No glass tower, no Twilight Town, nothing. Just the obscurity around her and the same voice she had heard before.

"_Darkness and Nothingness clash to claim the heart of all hearts. One is trying to consume all hearts into darkness, ever searching for more hearts. The other, obscures the light, a false truth, neither ally to darkness or light. The time has come, the door shall open. Power, Knowledge and Friendship are the keys that will lead to light. The Chosen shall not fear, they are not alone._"

Around her, the darkness vanished into little pieces, shredded away by a bright light sent from the pendant Olette wore. And beyond the darkness was nothingness. She couldn't tell if she was falling or not, but after just the blink of an eye, she was in a place she recognized all too well.

When she looked down, the ornament of stained glass had changed. The redhead, the girl she had seen just now in Twilight Town, and the graceful blond were still the same. But the empty ornament, the one with the crossed weapons, was now showing her portrait.

Olette was surprised. This whole thing had been going towards this. What did this place want to tell her? What was this 'quest' the voice talked about, and what was the darkness and the nothingness…?

Slowly walking towards the crest of the crossed weapons, Olette could feel that something else was here. Not the neutral voice, but something that had ill intentions, something evil. A cold shiver went down her back and she had no desire to look over her back. Something…was there, and that was all but a good sign, but it didn't look like there was any way out of here. Olette continued to walk to the crest when she got goosebumps from the feeling that someone was watching.

Standing right on top of the crest that showed the crossed Keyblades, Olette called out into the darkness.

"What I'm supposed to do now? I don't know! Tell me, or better, let me out of here!" Olette called, and waited for an answer.

And the voice answered.

"_The heart decides. Do not fret; a choice of the heart is never wrong. It shall create power anew._"

Why was it that everything the voice said made Olette worry more? Now she had to stand here and make some heart decision, whatever that meant. This was far beyond anything she had experienced so far, and it was scary. The voice was bad enough, but the constant feeling of being watched made it worse. Fearing that she would never get out of here if she started to argue with the voice, she followed the instructions.

Closing her eyes, holding out her right arm, she just waited for something to happen. But apparently Olette did something wrong, because nothing happened.

"_Strength comes with great responsibility. Never waver, never hesitate, but stay calm.__Darkness will try to corrupt the mind, will promise even greater power. The heart of strength has to be even stronger than the power itself. The crest is the light that leads, and the light will lead to the crest._"

Olette hated riddles. Sure, she knew about power. The strong had to protect the weak, had to fight for the right thing, that was natural. And those that strayed from that path would in the end lose their own self. What about that crest? This whole thing about darkness corrupting the mind was also not very promising.

Olette looked down, standing on the crest. It showed two crossed Keyblades, two weapons. Was that strength? Being able to fight like this?

Still clueless, Olette reached out again, concentrating on the crest below her.

Olette almost let the weapons that suddenly had formed out of light in her hands fall. They were the same weapons she had seen on the crests, but to have them real, to see them with her own eyes, to feel them, was odd and somewhat terrifying.

"_Great strength is the ability to protect, not to destroy. Righteous protection and malicious obstinacy can not be discerned by the heart alone. Knowledge and friendship shall be beside power; fetching it back should it stray from the right path._"

The voice became silent after that, and Olette looked at the Keyblades that had just appeared out of nowhere.

They were both the same, shaped like giant keys, with a crowned crest, the blades entirely silver and the hilts gold.

"What the—are these…real? They certainly feel like it. But where did they suddenly come from? And why did they come to me?" stuttered Olette, and gave the Keyblades a curious look.

They really weren't all that fancy or something, plain weapons to serve the goal of fighting. But whatever it was, if it involved fighting, she wasn't new to that. Since she had trained for Struggle every day, this shouldn't be much different. At least, that was what Olette was hoping.

But these blades outweighed the light Struggle bats by far. It would be harder to swing them around.

To test this, Olette did a few attacks she knew from her Struggle experience, vertical hits and horizontal hits, spinning and hitting thin air in a jump. It was much more exhausting than Struggle, and a lot harder to keep control of the blades, but it would work out.

And just before she knew it, Olette was surrounded by weird creatures coming out of the ground, entirely pitch black.

"You've got to be kidding me. This is the worst! I'm supposed to fight these…these…things?! That's not funny at all!" shouted Olette.

The dark things came closer to her and Olette took a few steps back.

"Go away, go away!" she yelled at them, swinging the Keyblades around in front of her.

There were too many. She couldn't leave this tower, and these things were coming closer every second. There was no choice but to put these weapons to practical use.

The little creatures came jumping at her, trying to scratch and bite her. Olette hit them by far not as fast as she could with a Struggle bat, but it was enough to stay uninjured for the moment.

The things didn't have any stamina at all, nor did they defend themselves. One or two clean hits, and they vanished back into darkness.

Olette had the advantage of two weapons and a lot of training, but this was still not easy. Those things were seriously trying to hurt her, which was a lot more stressful than the thought of just losing a Struggle match. One could give up in Struggle and just try again later, but this was different. Olette didn't think the monsters would listen to reason.

This was crazy! The black things were seriously trying to hurt Olette and they continuously tried to get to her. Olette let out an angry scream in the darkness despite that there was no one to hear her.

Quickly, but looking out for her guard, Olette literally jumped around on the tower, first defeating two of the beasts with horizontal swings, the next ones that came with a jump, fell to a vertical backslash and yet another one that had appeared out of the ground was taken by a round and round spin attack.

It took a while and Olette repeated the pattern she just used to lessen the rows of the things and there gradually became less and less of them.

The last dark thing fell to her movements, and Olette was quite exhausted. She had to look for another way to fight, this was just too hard with the weapons. Maybe if she attacked them more directly, head-on. This was not Struggle. The enemy wasn't a human. Those things didn't look very bright, so they might not even be able to defend themselves.

Olette really hoped that the test was over now or at least that this was the last of those monsters. It was a lot more than Struggle. Not to mention that she had by far enough for now.

"Did I pass the test? I really want to go home now! Let me out of here!" she shouted angrily in the darkness.

And as if to answer her call, now a bunch of silver, almost human-shaped creatures appeared.

Olette hoped that this would come soon to a end. She was not in the condition to fight an endless amount of these things. Moreover, it gave her a feeling that this was really dangerous. She didn't want to know what would happen if one of those things actually managed to hit her. Olette let out an annoyed sigh and tried the head-on approach with the silver monsters.

Some of them were too fast, but Olette had two weapons on her hand, so she could even attack when something was at her back. While they evaded most of the attacks that came head-on, they were easily tricked when Olette suddenly changed directions, and thanks to the all the training in Struggle, she was rather fast. Slaying them from behind, most of them fell after a few hits, while others wildly jumped around, making her often dump an almost-beaten enemy to fight another.

However, there weren't as many as those dark things and it wasn't long until she had defeated all of them.

What kind of terrible test was this? Would Olette be fighting until she would dropped dead from exhaustion or until one of these things killed her?

"This is hellishly stressful, and who in the world thinks of such tests, a devil?" Olette spoke to herself.

And as to answer her, the ground, the whole tower, started to shatter to pieces. Unable to run anywhere, she almost panicked for a second, but that wouldn't help now. A cold, more hellish freezing engulfed Olette when she fell down into the darkness, and she closed her eyes, holding both of her weapons crossed in front of her, just hoping she would get out alive.

When Olette opened her eyes, she was surrounded by the creatures again. But this time, she was in Twilight Town! Time still seemed to stand still, but it was full of the silver-like creatures. She was back where the darkness had sucked her in.

How much time had passed? Were her friends okay? Olette wanted to go back to the sandlot, but she would have to make a run for it. The weapons had vanished but the creatures were now dozens. Even if she had a weapon, she wouldn't be able to take all of them on all alone.

The only way left was to go through the crack. On the other side was the ground, torn to pieces, and two people, a pretty woman and a weird-looking man with an instrument who seemed to be fighting.

Her instinct gave her goosebumps and when she turned around, Olette could see that those creatures were coming after her. They were already all over the place.

Olette tried to call the weapons back. She couldn't just go in there without any means of defending herself.

"_The key is all along, always and for all time with the Chosen Ones. Call free its true nature_," echoed a voice through her head.

She had…

Olette took off her pendant, holding it in her right hand, and tried to call the weapons back. At first, nothing happened, but then a dazzling light emitted from her hand.

It was not the same as before. It had a curved crest, was golden all over, and her pendant was attached on the hilt.

This would work.

Olette turned around and ran through the crack. The woman had just taken cover, and the man was protecting himself with a water wall. It was high time to get out of here.

One Keyblade was not as good as two, but she could hit harder with just one. Someone was fighting in the mansion garden. Sounds of swords clashing echoed over the whole place. The gate had been smashed down, and one wall had been demolished.

Who on earth were these people? What the hell was going on?

Just when Olette decided that it was not a good idea to stay here, the girl she had seen running after the man with the black robe jumped right next to her.

For the fraction of a second, Kairi was too astonished to say anything. But the roar of Saïx got her back to her senses instantaneously.

"Who—who _are_ you?" Kairi asked, confused.

She had to hurry. Who was this girl? Why did she have a Keyblade? There wasn't much time for explanation.

"Olette. Who are you? And what are these weapons? What are you people—" Olette was cut off.

The wall literally exploded and sent them both flying. Olette hit the ground hard, while Kairi was able to roll up.

"I see. So there was another Keyblader. However, we have no use for you. You will die alongside with your little friend here," Saïx said calmly, and summoned a new sword.

Kairi wouldn't beat him. Not alone. Maybe that girl, Olette, could fight. It was a slim chance, but she had to take all possibilities into account. Having a weapon, even if it was a Keyblade, didn't mean that one could fight. But after all, she herself had learned to handle a Keyblade quite fast, so there was still a chance.

"You—I mean, Olette—can you fight?" Kairi shouted.

She didn't have time to ask more than that. Saïx was hot on her trail, repeatedly doing fast swings, forcing the redhead to concentrate on evading.

"Yeah. A bit. But…what, do you expect me to fight against this guy? He literally blew up that wall! A _wall!_" Olette shouted back, and got up.

"If you don't, we will both die here!" Kairi shouted angrily back.

That was enough to make Olette understand. This was no game. That guy seriously tried to kill them.

"You, you…don't have another of those things? Those weapons, I mean!" Olette shouted, finally realizing that she had to go along with what the girl said to get out of this mess.

Kairi didn't get what the hell the girl was getting at. Saïx kept her occupied and from behind came a sudden explosion that distracted all three. The whole forest had been set on fire.

"I see. So Demyx is most likely beaten. I will not fail like he did," Saïx said and jumped back. He would only need a little bit time to get back in his berserker mode.

"Look out! He is about to enter a berserker-like state. When he charges at you, just evade his attacks, evade them at any cost!" Kairi shouted to the girl that came running towards her.

"Tell me your name, at least. I can't shout 'you' forever. And do you have another of those weapons? I'm a bit used to fighting with two weapons from Struggle, so it's worth a try," Olette talked in a hurry.

What? That girl claimed to be able to what? Sure, she had tried to summon Oblivion at the same time as Oathkeeper, but she couldn't manage to maintain both of them in shape.

"I'm Kairi. You can maintain two Keyblades? Well, can't hurt to let you try. We need to take any chance we have to get out of here. Escape is not an option anymore with the burning forest. What kind of Keyblade do you use? Balance, magic or power?" Kairi asked. "Hurry, spill it."

"Power. It's what suits me best," Olette said.

She didn't like the tone that Kairi had but Olette didn't know how serious the situation really was.

Kairi picked Hero's Crest in a hurry from her belt and gave it to Olette. "You injured?"

Olette took the pendant, held it in her left hand and tried summoning it the same way she had done with her own pendant. This one was shaped like a golden medallion. At Kairi's question she shook her head. She only was a bit exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Kairi cast a Cura spell on herself and looked for where Saïx was. He wouldn't just stand around charging energy and be a sitting duck for her attacks. Kairi found him standing on the roof of the mansion. He must be ready any moment.

Olette had managed to summon Hero's Crest a few times but it disappeared shortly after. Something was wrong.

"How do you summon that—what do you call it, Keyblade? I just can't get it to work!" Olette asked the other Keyblader anxiously.

"Try to think of protecting someone dear or your world," Kairi answered and looked around.

She could make use of that broken wall. Saïx was only blindly trashing anything that came in his way, so she could win some time with that.

Olette closed her eyes for a moment and thought of Hayner and Pence and the people of Twilight Town. If she had the power to, Olette would protect them.

Kairi didn't use Hero's Crest usually. It was a brutal and heavy Keyblade that restricted her magic abilities. When she looked at Olette to see how her progress was, the girl was standing in a weird combat stance and holding Hero's Crest in her left, her own Keyblade in her right. How in the world was she able to do that?

But now was not the time for that. Saïx roared and was rushing down from the mansion towards them. Kairi was about to jump off when Olette hold her back.

"I have an idea. In theory, this should work like beating your Struggle opponent until he gives up. I've never fought with two versus one in Struggle, but I really hope this will work," Olette said, and started running towards the berserker Saïx.

Fighting two versus one was a very efficient method of demoralizing someone. Kairi shook her head and ran after her.

Saïx was head-on with Olette when she jumped and literally flew over him, leaving him confused. Kairi saw through her plan and rushed as fast she could at Saïx.

That was his big weak point. He was someone who could only concentrate on the enemy in front of him. He would never attack someone else until he had defeated the enemy before him.

Undetermined which of the girls he should attack first, Saïx got hit pretty badly in the back from Kairi. She had jumped and launched an attack in midair on him. That was at least enough to throw him off balance, and Olette took that chance. She went literally berserk on Saïx and used the longest combo she knew.

Kairi was standing behind Saïx who now was taking damage from the other girl and she also started to attack him. Nobody could defend against two sides at once.

"Now!" Kairi shouted. She took a step back and was about to use a technique she had learned from Tifa. Take all your power, rush at the enemy and hit a vital point with massive force.

Olette had her own view of what was called a combo finish. She made a spin, hit Saïx's chest area repeatedly, and virtually threw him off ground with the following opposite-vertical double hit.

Saïx had reached his limit. He was sick of playing around with little brats. Just before he could do anything, before he hit the ground, he was taken by Kairi's attack and literally crashed through the mansion wall.

"Did we do it?" Olette asked, insecure.

"Doubt it, but I sure hope so. Don't let your guard down," Kairi replied, and slowly walked towards the hole in the wall.

Olette waited where she was, quite a few feet away from where Kairi was now.

Saïx shot out of the hole with insane speed and before Kairi could defend herself, he hit her with an incredible brutal horizontal slash.

The redhead was sent flying across the place and crashed into Olette, taking her along. Both crashed on the ground, about twenty feet away from Saïx.

"I've had enough of your little games. I have more important things to attend to!" he yelled, and rushed towards the two girls.

Kairi had lost consciousness from that hit and Olette kind of panicked now. She didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating this man. He had knocked out Kairi with just one hit.

Unable to decide where to run to, Olette crossed both Keyblades in front of her and awaited Saïx's attack. He took her head-on, hammering on her defense, and with a last brutal hit, he sent her flying.

Olette was breathing heavily and at the end of her strength. If this went on, she had no chance. This was completely different from Struggle. Sure, one could use the same techniques, but not only were the Keyblades heavier than a Struggle bat, they also had a different shape and the match wasn't just over after two minutes. The heat from behind, the angst for one's own life, and all the other thoughts people had in real combat were a totally new and frightening experience for Olette.

Kairi and Olette both had given all they had, but Saïx was still not beaten. He seemed more furious then ever.

However, Demyx had long left and Xigbar was also not in this world anymore. He had taken some damage, but that hadn't affected his ability to fight at all. But there was no saying when the others of the group would catch up, especially that one woman who had created that barrier in almost the blink of an eye. It would be a shame to let them live, but he had to hurry.

Saïx was about to finish this ridiculous fight when he was called off. It was not Xigbar—he would just have ignored that—it was someone else from Organization XIII.

"Saïx. Leave those girls alive. Our plan will benefit greatly from those two. We can eliminate them later," echoed the voice in his head.

What in the hell was the Superior thinking? Why should he leave those brats? One Keyblader was more than enough to make their plan a success. But he had no choice. Disobeying the orders of the Superior was disobeying and betraying the Organization.

Saïx opened a portal, much to the surprise of Olette, who was left not knowing what devilish trick would come now. He walked through it and vanished into the darkness. Left were a half-destroyed mansion, a completely destroyed garden, and a burning forest.

Olette slowly got up and walked over to where Kairi was lying on the ground. She was still unconscious from that hit and Olette was unable to carry her. They were trapped in that burning hell.

But their rescue was already here.

---Valiant Hearts---

Aerith found Yuffie in the grocery shop and brought her to the keyhole gateway that was still open. There were signs that someone bleeding heavily had come by, but if one of the Organization dared to use this portal, Tifa, Leon and Cid were still on the other side, so there was no need to worry about that.

Aerith didn't have the time to give Yuffie more than an emergency Cura. She had to look for Kairi; she was beyond that burning forest, imprisoned. There must be another way there.

Aerith looked around and found that the trail of blood led just around the corner. What she found there was beyond her imagination.

A portal of darkness, one of these that led to the corridors of darkness and that could be used to bridge any distance in a very short amount of time, was standing in front of her. The blood trail ended in it, so one of the Organization XIII members must have walked through it.

Not hesitating to use the portal, she found herself in a big entrance hall. The way was too short to lead to a different world, so it must be somewhere in this one. Through a big hole in the wall she could see the burning forest. She used the hole in the wall to leave the hall as the door was frozen, and she looked for Kairi.

And there she was, lying on the ground, right next to a girl with two Keyblades.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette was sitting right next to Kairi, worn out and still not fully able to comprehend what had exactly happened. The brunette heard a sound from direction of the mansion, and although it was most likely just the wall breaking down, she looked there. A woman dressed in pink was standing there, apparently also injured. That woman was directly looking at them.

When Aerith approached them, Olette took position to attack Aerith in case she was also an enemy. At least, she had been firing off fireballs in that forest. A little bit of caution was appropriate.

"Dear, Kairi, are you okay?" Aerith just ran past Olette and earned a puzzled expression from her. "Where is the member of the Organization? And who are you?" Aerith looked at Olette.

"I'm Olette. If you mean that guy in black, he vanished into some kind of black hole," Olette said, and sat down. She wasn't able to stand much anymore. What would become of her now? Who were those people? Those weapons? What…was she? Who…was she? Kairi would surely know the answer to these questions, but unfortunately, she was unconscious.

Aerith was quite happy, but on another hand she was just as puzzled. Someone else besides Kairi could wield a Keyblade? On top of that, two of them? Now that was new. But at least they had chased away all of the Organization members.

"Can you carry her? I don't know if the Organization really has given up for now or if they could ambush us one more time. I'm really sorry that I can't give you a Curaga spell, but let me see what I can do," Aerith said, and directed both her hands towards the girls. "_People of light, bless me with your salvation_," she recited.

Aerith finished the spell and felt that any more spells would put herself in danger. She had healed some of Kairi's severe injuries and some of Olette's, but it wasn't a full healing by far.

"I'm afraid we really damaged your world badly. But I'm sure that the forest will grow back. As for the mansion…" Aerith apologized.

"Don't worry. Nobody paid attention to those places anyway. But who are you people?! Coming out of nowhere and doing this amazing stuff," Olette replied.

"It's not as amazing as you think. We would rather not have to do all that fighting. I would never have guessed to run into another Keyblader here," Aerith explained.

"Who are you? What did those people want? Who are they? And the most importantly, why do I have these weapons? Who am I?" Olette blurted out.

"You…also that is…I fear I won't be able to explain all this right here. I think you should come with us. We will have time to explain everything to you," Aerith said.

With that, Olette was satisfied, and took Kairi, carrying her piggyback to where the unknown woman was leading her.

"Oh, I'm so rude. I completely forgot to tell you my name. I'm Aerith."

"Nice to meet you, Aerith, I should probably say. But it's not really nice under those circumstances," Olette said with a false smile.

"I'm so sorry for that. We were looking for a way to another world and—" she cut herself off, biting her lip.

She wasn't supposed to tell people about the existence of other worlds. But this girl was a Keyblader, so she would know sooner or later anyway.

"I don't get what you're saying, but do we have really to walk through that?" Olette pointed at the portal of darkness. "And how do I get rid of these weapons?" she asked. "They're really unhandy while carrying her."

"I only asked Kairi once how she does that, but apparently you focus your will on it and ask the Keyblade to return to its pendant shape," Aerith explained. "And you won't feel much. It's just about a few steps, and then you're in a underground passage in your city."

Olette tried that, but at the moment, her thoughts were way too messy to focus on anything, so she just stepped through the portal, still carrying Kairi.

For a moment, there was a cold and impervious darkness, but after another couple of steps, she was in the underground passage of Twilight Town.

There was another girl leaning on the wall, right next to something that closely resembled a giant keyhole.

"I really wonder if I want to know who you people are," Olette said.

---Valiant Hearts---

He had finished his own mission. Naminè had successfully escaped through the keyhole gateway. She must already be in the other world.

It was his luck that the Organization thought he was dead. His luck that Xigbar didn't know he hadn't died with that attack. But he wouldn't make it. He had taken far too much damage. But he would see Naminè off. After the woman and Demyx had engaged in battle, he escaped unnoticed to the mansion, unseen by Saïx, who was fighting with the Keyblader, and entered the mansion.

"Axel! What happened to you? What's happening out there? Is it the Organization?" Naminè asked her former guard and ex-Organization XIII member.

"That's nothin'. We're gonna make a run for it now. Naminè, when we reach the portal the Keyblader uses, you will flee to that world. You'll be safe there. I can't come with you; I'm still a part of the Organization. They'll think you're a spy or something. Don't tell them who I am. Got it memorized?" Axel explained, and took her hand, dragging her along.

He didn't have time to have her agree to everything. There was no saying how long the Keyblader was able to hold off Saïx. He was a monster, one of the most powerful fighters in the Organization.

"But where will you be going, Axel? Where will you hide from them? Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I'm opening a portal. We can't go outside."

Axel tried to ignore the almost unbearable pain and opened a portal. It was good that Naminè didn't notice the bloodstains he left on the ground. She would be too worried about someone like him.

They passed the corridor of darkness in just a second and were at the point where Axel had been noticed by the ninja girl.

"Walk through that. If you encounter any black creatures that try to attack you, summon your Keyblade. Just use what I taught you. Never stop on that path. Got it memorized?" Axel said, and looked down at the blond girl.

"Yeah, I understand that. But what about you?" she replied, and gave Axel a questioning look.

"I'll be okay. I'll think of somethin'. You go now. Don't worry," Axel said, and nudged her inside the portal.

Naminè turned around, looking at him. "Will I see you again?" she asked with a worried expression.

"If you want, I'll come and visit you. I'm not just gonna disappear. Promise, we'll see each other again," he replied, and pointed in the direction of the other world.

Naminè gave him a final nod, a last smile, turned around and did a few steps on the road of darkness. She wanted to wave a last time at him, to see him off for the time being. But when Naminè turned around to look at Axel, he had vanished into the dark.

Naminè was now all on her own for the first time ever. It was a bit of an empty feeling, as if something had been taken from her—a cold icy feeling that let one shudder for no reason. Axel had been there as long she could remember, and she felt sad now that they had parted ways.

Not knowing what else to do, she strode forward, towards the world she knew and didn't. Hoping that Axel was okay and that she could meet him again soon, she looked back one last time despite knowing he wouldn't be there.

Naminè wanted to call out to him, just to look if he was still there and to put her mind at ease, but she couldn't be dependent on Axel forever. It was still strange to be suddenly alone, and by far not the best feeling she had experienced.

But he had promised they would meet again, somewhere. Naminè trusted him.

End of Chapter V


	6. The End of an Beginning

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter VI

_The confrontation I fear_

Part III

_End of an Beginning_

"So you all failed," he said with an cold yet utterly crushing voice.

They hadn't had much of a choice. The girl escaped, and now that they were asked, they didn't even have proof that Axel was dead. To top that off, Xigbar had been beaten pretty badly and wouldn't be able to run any missions anytime soon.

"Xemnas, there wasn't anything we could do beyond what we did. We didn't expect the fools from Hollow Bastion to come to that World at the exact same time. Also, another Keyblader girl showed up out of nowhere. She was with the girl from Hollow Bastion."

Saix hadn't been left off lightly. Xemnas had punished him pretty bad and his face showed traces of that all over.

"So we have three Keybladers now? Xemnas, isn't that, somewhat, overkill?" Demyx interrupted and waved his arms around.

"Isn't that dangerous? One of them is easy to handle, but three might turn out a bit too much for-" He was disrupted by a energy ball that send him flying across the hall they were in.

"Fool. We can easily destroy them. They will serve us well. All there is to do, is to lead them on the right path. This will benefit our plan greatly,"  
Xemnas replied to Demyx's outburst.

The atmosphere in the hall was virtually freezing when Xemnas turned around to watch the fruit of his hard work. Soon, it would be completed. Now, with two more girls that wielded Keyblades, it was just an easy task of waiting.

Initially, he had thought of killing the Keyblader from Hollow Bastion, but that had proven unwise at multiple occasions. Not only did they prove amazingly stubborn and durable, but also stronger than he had taken into account in his plan. It was much easier to leave those fools alone while they did the work of collecting hearts for him. He could dispose of them easily enough when the plan had been a success.

"You three shall remain here for the time being. Call Luxord and tell him to bring turmoil to another world. We need to have those girls collect more and more hearts for us. Soon, yes, soon, our plan will succeed."

Without a word, the three left. Xigbar returned quickly to his room, burning with rage over his shame. Demyx, having no orders as of now, also returned to his room.

On the contrary, Saix went to tell Luxord of his new orders. Why Xemnas picked the old gambler was a mystery to him. Xaldin would be much more suited to that kind of duty.

The superior must have had some plan on his mind. It was very dangerous to let those fools from Hollow Bastion just do as they pleased.  
Even if they now were far away from being able to beat him, he had taken some damage against those two brats. Xigbar was close to being defeated, and from what Demyx told him about the woman in pink, she was a very powerful magic user. What was Xemnas thinking?

"Luxord."

Saix had found the gambler on the balcony and waited to continue until he has his full attention.

"Xemnas orders you to continue your work. He didn't order where, just go to a world nearby to Hollow bastion and sow turmoil and strife. Do as you please, but refrain from any unnecessary mistakes like the last time."

Without waiting for his answer, Saix turned around and slowly walked away.

Luxord, one of the older members of Organization XIII, was also one of the more incalculable members. He was tall, blond, had several earrings and a distinctive light beard. His personality was as twisted as it could be but one way or another, he finished most missions to the satisfaction of Xemnas.

"I need to speak to Xemnas later. We need to stop those fools from Hollow Bastion. They're likely to interfere with our plan."

Saix, still talking to himself, walked away in direction of the demolished city grounds the battle with the Hollow Bastion group had left. They wouldn't rebuild it. There were other important things.

--Valiant Hearts--

Tifa was worried about Kairi and Aerith. For a surveillance mission, this took already way too long. Cid refused to open the portal alone and had given her some overly complicated technical reason he won't even try.

"I hope it's just some harmless reason like they got lost and need to find the place. I don't want either of them to get hurt," Tifa said to calm herself, wandering around.

They were overdue for more than three hours. It was impossible for Tifa to be calm anymore. To distract her mind, she had started patrolling the area quite a while ago. Of course, there wasn't anything unusual.

But Tifa was absolutely restless now. Another hour had passed and there was still not the slightest sign of Aerith, Kairi and Yuffie. She couldn't just sit around and wait anymore. With an iron-like determination, Tifa almost knocked down the door to Merlin's house in search for Cid. But he wasn't there; nobody was.

"Where the heck did Cid go?" Tifa swore and marched off.

She couldn't find Cid anywhere, not even in the usual places not near the mar that was often the testing area for his new tools and explosives.

But Cid wasn't there either. Tifa was quite angry, and completely devoid of a medium for her anger, she angrily punched the ground. Half of the cliff shuddered under the impact and the black haired woman felt a bit better. Losing her cool wouldn't help, but the recent events were a bit much for her not to worry.

Just as Tifa turned around to walk back to the living quarter, she heard something. The sound that was similar to what occurred when a portal opened. For a moment, she had been thinking that Kairi and Aerith were back, but this was quite some distance from the portal place. It wasn't them. That left only two other choices.

First, it was someone from the town, maybe Leon who was looking for her. She had left her post after all. But they would have called out to her. Well, Leon maybe not.

Second, and that was more likely, it was someone that was trying to enter this world unnoticed. And that wouldn't be unless the one had a very good reason not to be seen.

With a sudden movement, Tifa turned around and rushed in the direction the sound had come from. Whoever, and whatever, it was, right now was the worst time to get noticed.

There didn't seem to be a need to launch a full all-out attack. There really was someone there. But what, who, she found there... Tifa would never have guessed.

--Valiant Hearts--

"So, you're saying this... Portal thing here connects this world with another?"

Olette was standing in front of the keyhole gateway and gazed at it, still carrying Kairi. It was still open, and Aerith had given her a short explanation what it was. She didn't understand all of it, but the basic was, this was a portal that lead to another world.

"Yes, it comes pretty much down to that. Are you okay with carrying Kairi?" Aerith asked her, quite busy herself, carrying Yuffie whom was still unconscious.

Olette sighed and looked back. The town was still frozen and even Aerith didn't have any explanation why. Her only guess had been that someone set the town to a frozen state because of the intruders, that is, the Organization XIII and Kairi, Yuffie and herself.

There wasn't much of a choice now. There had been too much weird stuff happening lately to just return to a everyday life. At least not now.  
The unconscious girl that was resting on her back, the woman in pink that was now telling her to walk through some sort of portal she had never seen before, and yet another girl, that was also unconscious and carried by Aerith, all that was just too much to comprehend here and now.

Her mind demanded a explanation of what was going on, and she would only get that when she would go with those people. So, not much of a choice on that matter.

"I hope you're right and this really leads to another world and isn't just... whatever it is and leaves me in the darkness," Olette sighed and stepped towards the portal. Standing right in front of it, she could feel a slight chilly atmosphere streaming from it. That didn't make this any better.

"It is completely harmless. It could be a bit cold compared to the heat here," Aerith said and stepped behind Olette.

The brunette wasn't sure this was a good idea but took the final step forward anyway. It didn't feel any different than doing a regular step, but she was now standing on a narrow path of light, completely surrounded by darkness and the stars.

"So.. this is one of the paths that connect worlds? Are you using those often?" she asked while doing another set of steps.

Aerith was close behind her, and just as she had stepped through the portal, it closed itself, leaving no trace of it in the frozen Twilight Town.

"Kairi uses them when she travels from world to world. You see, Kairi has been doing this for quite a while, and is looking for her friends. But that is a story you should really hear from her," Aerith explained and kept a short distance to the girl.

Although this gateway had been secure when they first arrived in this world, there was no saying that there were no Heartless lurking in the darkness this time.

"Say... who were these guys? You called them Organization something," Olette asked the woman walking behind her.

"Organization XIII. The Nobodies. Nobodies. We don't know much yet, but they seem to be after something special. And I think the chosen of  
the Keyblade plays a significant role in their scheme."

A short pause occurred. Olette didn't understand why Aerith called them "Nobodies," but decided not to ask now.

"But they're not the only ones after the Keyblade. There are the Heartless, creatures of the endless darkness. We don't know how and why someone is chosen by the Keyblade, and I fear the heartless will now also try to capture your Keyblade. I'm not sure why you wield one at all, since the legend said never anything about more than one chosen."

This made even less sense. The heartless? How could something like that even exist?

"But I wonder why the Heartless didn't find you. They lust after the Keyblade, yet fear it. It must have something to do with this strange world you were living in."

The way seemed practically endless for Aerith, and all those mysteries didn't make it better.

"Why was the Organization in that world? What were they after? It didn't look like they wanted you or us. We were merely to the wrong time on the wrong place."

Olette was lost. This was too much info at once. It had been the longest day ever for her, and she wasn't particularly happy about that. The glass tower... the silver and black... but those black things, were that the Heartless Aerith was speaking about? And then... those men with the black coats.

"I need report this to Leon and Cid as soon as I can. And..."

Aerith looked at the girl in front of her. She was about the same age as Kairi. She knew how hard it was for Kairi to grew accustomed to be a chosen of the Keyblade. Now, Olette had appeared and even wielded two Keyblades. Aerith didn't want to drag yet another girl in their battle against the Heartless, but there wasn't much of a choice. Wielding a Keyblade came with great danger for one self and the world one was living. But she couldn't bring herself to explain this to Olette.

"How long is this path? I have the feeling we've been walking for hours."

Olette sighed and looked behind her. If she didn't count Aerith, there was nothing but darkness there. The portal to her world must have been closed or something.

"We're almost there. Since Kairi is still unconscious, I need you to open the portal to our world," Aerith said.

"But I don't see anything here. Are you sure?" Olette wondered.

"Yes, I am sure. We're almost there. Look on the ground. You should see a little keyhole somewhere ahead. That is the sign that there is a world with a gateway there."

Aerith was worried if Olette could manage opening a portal on her own yet.

"What would happen if we miss it?"

That was one of these questions one shouldn't ask.

"We would, somewhere on this path, find another keyhole I think. But we could walk days or forever and not find one. Most of those paths end in nothingness and darkness. But don't worry, a Keyblade master can feel where a keyhole is located."

"I don't feel anything," Olette responded.

"Only Kairi can really explain how it works, I fear. I only asked her once how she notices those things, and the best way she could explain it was intuition. For now, we can only hope that you really will notice it. But I trust you."

That didn't particularly put Olette at ease. What if she really missed it?

With all her remaining concentration looking down on the ground and even slowing down a bit, Olette looked for something that looked like a keyhole.

"It should be around here somewhere. The gateway compass from Cid signalizes that a keyhole is pretty close. Now it's up to you. Only you can see the keyhole" Aerith said to Olette.

And there it was. Olette saw something really tiny on the ground. It looked like just another star that was glimmering in the darkness and shining through the path of light.

"I found it. What do I now?" she called out to Aerith.

"Summon your Keyblade and, from here on I can only tell you how Kairi described it once to me. Concentrate on it and try to open it."

That was much easier said than done. Let alone summoning her Keyblade, Olette had not the glimpse of a idea how she would do that, but opening this... portal keyhole thing was over the top. How was she supposed to do that?

First, she had to lay down Kairi. It was impossible to do anything while carrying her piggyback. Aerith did the same with Yuffie, probably assuming that this could take a while.

"I guess summoning the weapons works the same way like dismissing," Olette said to herself and closed her eyes.

Olette took both pendants that she had affixed on her trousers when they had left the mansion in her hands and took a deep breath.

She could remember well what the weapons looked like. The golden one, her own, and the one she had borrowed from Kairi, the silver-like one.  
Picturing those in her mind, she simply thought of how the pendants would change shape. But that wasn't enough apparently.

Both pendants didn't move an inch. They looked exactly the same as before. But it was probably too much to ask to have it work on the first try.

"Isn't there some trick to this? It doesn't seem to work for me," Olette complained.

Aerith didn't have any answer on that but walked right next to her. Laying her a hand on the hands of the girl, Aerith explained with a somewhat reassuring voice.

"Close your eyes, picture your Keyblade, try it with one at a time only and ask the Keyblade to take its true form for you. I think that is how Kairi does it," Aerith said and stepped back.

Olette closed her eyes again and did how Aerith had instructed.

This time...

--Valiant Hearts--

"So, I found her virtually falling out of a portal like the ones the Organization uses near the mar. Someone want to explain to me who she is? She tells me the whole time that she knows Kairi and is looking for her."

Tifa was one inch short of snapping. Not only were Aerith and Kairi more than six hours late, no, on top of that she had found this girl near the mar. To make that worse, she had come out of a portal of darkness, and even then, she had been wielding a Keyblade.

The only thing that Tifa had gotten out of her was that her name was Naminè and she was looking for Kairi. Apparently she knew her and as proof of that showed Tifa the Keyblade.

Of course she had recognized that Keyblade. It was Monochrome, one of Kairi's Keyblades

Unable to make a decision as to believe her or not, she brought the girl to Merlin's house, and on the way bumped into Leon and Cid, who were just coming back from a experiment. Leon looked quite demolished, but Tifa didn't care at all.

Cid had downright drowned her in questions when he noticed Naminè, but Tifa was completely unable to give any answers.

Right now, they were all in Merlin's house, Naminè sitting in a chair on the other end of the room, the Keyblade Monochrome on her lap, and looking a bit confused.

Tifa had gotten really angry when she didn't want to explain from where she knew Kairi and why she knew all their names.

"So, you're telling me just to believe her and let her walk around like it's nothing? You've got to be kidding me Leon! First, she wields a Keyblade. On top of that, this was once Kairi's Keyblade, Monochrome. It is weird enough that she is able to wield it. Second, Kairi and Aerith are six hours, Leon, six hours!, overdue and now she appears all of a sudden? And to make all this worse, she claims to know Kairi, knows from somewhere all ours names  
and even refuses to tell me where she is from and from where she knows Kairi. You can't seriously tell me that-" Tifa got cut off by Leon.

"Calm down Tifa, calm down. I know it's hard for you right now to think clearly but we can't have you wreak havoc now. We're all worried about  
Kairi, Aerith and Yuffie, but you're jumping to conclusions," Leon said with a completely calm voice.

Tifa was about to beat Leon to a pulp. How could he say that to her despite what had happened the last few days?

Naminè in the meanwhile had stood up and was now standing right next to Tifa. She certainly didn't look like a spy of the Organization or something like that. That she was able to wield a Keyblade fortified that fact.

"Kairi is in this world. I can feel her," she said to Tifa, whose eyes got wide and mouth stood open.

"If that's just a cheap lie to get out of here then, girl, you better be prepared for the worst," Tifa snapped at her and ran off.

Leon and Cid, both looked at Naminè with great eyes. Who in the world was that girl?

--Valiant Hearts--

"See, you can do it. Wasn't so hard, was it?"

Aerith gave Olette a smile and looked at the open gateway.

She had managed to successfully materialize her own Keyblade and open the gateway. It wasn't that hard when she concentrated on just one Keyblade. Opening the portal worked itself out without much trouble.

"This... world looks kind of gloomy," Olette said as she looked around.

"Not at all. We have a very nice town not far from here. This is just the portal that is used to travel to your world."

"Say... what is that dust cloud that's rushing at us?" asked Olette slightly scared.

"Oh my god, that's Tifa. Fast, stand behind me," Aerith told the girl and took a deep breath.

"Tifa!! We're back! Don't worry, we're okay!"

Aerith shouted and as if her words were some sort of break, the dust cloud got slower until Olette could see that it was a black dressed woman that had been running towards them with an amazing speed.

"Aerith, god I was so worried." Tifa didn't lose any time and embraced Aerith.

Tifa, worried sick, didn't even notice that Aerith had been carrying Yuffie nor that Olette was standing right behind Aerith. Tifa practically forced  
Aerith in a close embrace and even closer kiss, but Aerith couldn't and probably didn't want to put up any resistance.

Unable to hold Yuffie like that, Aerith dropped her and she fell on the rock hard ground. She was still unconscious and unable to moan out.

"Are you injured? Of course you are injured! Did the Organization attack you? I swear, I'm going to tear them apart the next time... Where is Kairi? Is Kairi okay?" Tifa blurted out and looked around.

"She is okay, but I need to heal her. Can you... uhm... let me go? I'm really happy to be back, but we're all really tired." Aerith tried to put Tifa a bit at ease.

Tifa had noticed the other girl that was carrying Kairi. If not for Aerith, she would have tried to get some answers out of that girl. But that was not the only problem. That girl was wielding a Keyblade Tifa had never seen before. And she knew all of Kairi's.

"That girl is wielding a Keyblade? Aerith, what in the world happened over there? I really love you and trust you blind, but you really need to explain this," complained Tifa to her girlfriend.

Olette stood there with an open mouth. Sure, the concept of homosexual people was not new to her, but to see one with her own eyes was certainly different.

"Her name is Olette... let me get some rest and I will explain everything to you. There is a lot to explain. But I need to treat Kairi first, and Yuffie could also need some proper rest. Olette is surely also complete worn out," Aerith told her lover and freed herself from her embrace.

After she picked up Yuffie, Tifa had closely examined Olette and Kairi in the meanwhile, the little group walked towards the town.

Tifa had completely forgotten about Naminè for the moment.

"Your name is Olette?" she started a conversation with the brunette.

"Hm. And you're Tifa? That is if what Aerith shouted just now is your name?"

"Yeah, I'm Tifa. Let's hear your story. How come you wield a Keyblade, and you suddenly show up with Aerith and Kairi here?"

Aerith gave her lover a cold glare.

"Don't bombard her with questions Tifa. I also have questions for her, but that has to wait until she gets some rest. She and Kairi apparently fought alone against one of the members of the Organization. And it didn't seem like it was a weak member. I'm really grateful to her. So give your curiosity a break, will you?"

Although it had a serious tone, she gave Tifa a smile and was happy to see her.

The little group was halfway up to the living quarter when Tifa offered to also carry Kairi. It was no big deal for her, but Olette didn't mind carrying Kairi at all.

It took them, exhausted as they were, almost half a hour to reach the living quarter where Leon and Cid were waiting outside of Merlin's house.

Leon tried to stop Aerith, but Tifa gave him a killing glare.

"They need some rest. We'll explain everything after that," she fired at Leon and ignored his objection.

Their house was not too far from where Merlin's house was, and for the time being, they would also take Yuffie and Olette there.

Depleted and exhausted, Aerith sat down on the couch and while Tifa was busy placing Yuffie on another couch, Olette looked around.

It was a nice place, but she still had some trouble to imagine that those two woman were not only a couple but also lived apparently here together.

"Olette dear, lay Kairi down next to me. I'll treat her wounds first."

Olette followed Aerith's plea and laid the redhead on the couch, her head resting on Aerith's lap.

Taking a deep breath, focusing her mind, Aerith started to treat the wounds of her adoptive daughter.

"Great saint of the holy kingdom, let their ordeal come to an end and gift them with your blessing. Grant me your power and might and let me pass  
them down to cure what I hold dear."

Aerith finished her recitation and a really bright, dazzling light emitted from her hands and covered slowly Kairi's whole body.

"That's the strongest healing magic we know of. Aerith calls it Erzengel. Thats an very old word in the ancient language of the world we come originally from and means Arch Angel," explained Tifa.

"I never heard of people using magic like that," said Olette and continued to observe Aerith.

The light slowly ceased and where previously there had been wounds from the intense battle, there was nothing left. That was a truly amazing skill.

"How did she do that?" Olette asked Tifa.

"Magic. It's a natural thing. Kairi is capable of some magic herself but not even close to what Aerith is capable of. I don't use magic much although I'm quite skilled. Not as much as Aerith, though."

Tifa walked over to Aerith and picked Kairi up. Aerith was obviously even more exhausted than before. Such amazing magic must put quite some stress on one's body.

"I'll get her in her room. Her body is now fine, but her mind needs some rest too." Tifa said to Olette and went upstairs.

"I fear you won't be able to rest right now Olette. Leon won't just sit idly by and leave you alone. We need to at least explain to him who you are."

Olette didn't really want to go through any more explaining. Her head was quite hurting from all this and she only wanted some sleep.

In that very moment knocked someone on the door.

--Valiant Hearts--

"This world is perfect for a little game. It reminds me somewhat of the world my original came from."

A man, completely covered in a black coat, was standing on the pier of a big haven.

With just the wink of his hand, a massive Heartless rose from the ground. This world was the perfect playground for him. It was only a matter of time until the Keyblade's chosen would arrive here. They would fetch many, many hearts for him. But it would be too boring if he just flooded the world with Heartless.

"I think it is time to make use of the code."

The man turned around, lifted both arms and spoke one simple word.

"Parley."

--Valiant Hearts--

"I'm getting a headache."

Tifa was standing in the midst of her own living room and didn't understand the world anymore.

For the longest of all times, they searched for the chosen of the Keyblade and found Kairi. Now, after a single trip to another world, there were suddenly three of them.

"Wait, wait wait wait a moment! Your name is Naminè, right?" Tifa got a short nod from the blond girl.

"And you're Olette. You're from Twilight Town, and Naminè doesn't know where she's from."

Two girls gave her another nod.

Tifa scuffled her hair, seemingly quite annoyed.

"Aerith, I'm going to check on Kairi, I'll let you handle this."

The living room, that was definitely not designed to fit that many, was filled with people.

Leon and Cid, bringing along Naminè, had been curious who the unknown girl was that had been carrying Kairi. Now, they found out that it was yet another chosen of the Keyblade.

"Tis' feels like a bad joke from Destiny, don'tcha think?" grumbled Cid and looked desperately for a chair or something to sit down.

"Calm down, all of you. No one here had a easy day and if you absolutely insist on doing this now, we will do this in a calm manner."

Aerith didn't like this much. She wasn't in the best of the moods and quite exhausted on top of that.

"The facts first," Leon started.

He went over to where Naminè was sitting and looked at her.

"Tell us how you got that Keyblade and where you came from. We don't know anything but that your name is Naminè."

The blond girl gave Leon a curious look.

"I don't know. I just woke one day up in that weird town and started looking around. I don't even know what I was looking for. Then Axel found me.  
He brought me somewhere. I don't remember where." She started to tell her story.

Leon sighed and looked over to Aerith, who only gave him a slightly annoyed look.

"Who is this Axel?" Leon asked.

"Axel is a kind guy that saved me from the Organization. We escaped together but the Organization hunted him because he ignored the orders of someone. That is what he told me."

The room was dead silent. Axel, a member of the Organization had helped her?

"Where is this Axel now?" Leon asked again.

"I... don't know. I was in that mansion when Axel suddenly came rushed in and told me we have to escape. It was really loud out there. He opened a portal and brought me to another place with another portal. He promised we would meet again."

The atmosphere got really weird after she finished her talk.

"You don't know? Why did he help you? What is your relation to-" Leon was cut off.

"Make a point Leon. She obviously told you what she knows," said an annoyed Aerith.

"But we need-"

"What do you gain when you force her? She is able to wield a Keyblade, and the Organization hunted this Axel down because he betrayed them. So she is obviously not a enemy."

"Aerith this is not-"

"Leon!"

Leon took a step back. It was really rare that Aerith got loud, but that was a sure sign that she was serious about this. He had no choice but to back off for now. When thinking about it, Aerith really did have a point. The Organization wouldn't hunt one of their members for naught.

"Your name is Aerith, right?"

Naminè was standing right next to her.

"Yes dear. Don't mind him. This is how he shows that he is concerned about us."

"Oh, that's okay. The people at the Organization were much much worse."

"Are you tired?"

Leon felt completely alienated. But he was already somewhat used to this.

"Not very. Can I see Kairi? I want her to thank for the visit the other day."

Aerith was puzzled. The visit the other day? When did Kairi...

"Now I know who you are!"

Everyone in the room was looking at Olette.

She had been pondering about something the whole time. She had seem that girl before. Olette was absolutely sure that she had seen her somewhere before. But where?

"On that glass tower! You're the girl that was right next to Kairi. Now that I think about it, that Keyblade ornament was also the same!"

Leon sighed. This was getting more complicated by the second. He couldn't even follow everything anymore. Who in the world were those two girls?  
One seemed to be from the world Kairi and Aerith just had visited, while the other one didn't know where she was from. On top of that, the Organization had been shown up in both stories.

"Kairi, you need to rest. You shouldn't even be up!" Tifa was getting loud. Everyone in the living room could hear her talk upstairs.

Just moments later, Kairi appeared on the top stair and slowly walked down.

"I'm fine. Aerith healed me anyway. Beside, I can't sleep with that ruckus down here anyway."

Naminè wanted to immediately go over to Kairi, but it seemed like Kairi didn't recognize her at all. It wasn't that weird, as Kairi had never really seen her. But there was one thing that Kairi would surely remember.

Naminè looked at her palm, and for a second recalled their meeting in Castle Oblivion. Kairi would know immediately who she was. Naminè could hardly wait, it was the first time she felt so excited, but she had to wait for the right moment.

Kairi immediately recognized Olette, but had no idea who the blond girl was. There was something familiar about her, as if she knew her long ago, but she couldn't say where she belonged to.

"Leon. This girl here is Olette. She is from the world we were just visiting. I think the town is the core part of that world. It is called Twilight Town,"  
Kairi started her report.

Olette didn't understand what Kairi was saying. Core part?

"That world's name is most likely also Twilight Town. Let's keep it at that. We fought a member of the Organization. He was using a big sword and berserker techniques. From what I heard about the other day, no one of us fought him before. Olette showed up in the middle of the fight and fought the Organization XIII member with me. I got knocked out and don't know what happened after, but since Olette isn't seriously injured I think he left shortly after that. She is able to wield two Keyblades and even maintain both of them. You all know that I tried using the same technique a while back but wasn't able to do it. She is able to."

Kairi finished her report and sat down right beside Aerith.

"That explains one of them. Do you know anything about her?" Leon pointed at Naminè.

Kairi hadn't heard that her name was Naminè yet, so she just shook her head. She didn't recognize that face, nor did she know why that girl was wielding Monochrome, which was originally her Keyblade.

Naminè knelt down in front of Kairi and, with a slight smile, imitated the scene from when Kairi meet her at the top level of castle oblivion.

"Do you remember?"

Tifa, still standing on the lowest stair, did a short gasp. What in the world was that girl doing? Aerith didn't seem to mind and had to grin slightly.  
Kairi had been a bit distanced to people of her age ever since Sora and Riku had been imprisoned in Kingdom Hearts.

"Na... Naminè?!" Kairi gasped and completed the imitation by laying her hand on Naminè's cheek.

Naminè now smiled, truly happy, and was looking at Kairi. She had wished for this to happen, had wished to look in her eyes and have her look back.

Kairi, getting a hold of herself, looked at Leon. It wasn't a secret from his cold glare that he didn't trust the girl.

"She is... I don't know exactly what she is, but definitely not a enemy. She was imprisoned on top of some castle I found when we raided the Organization headquarters the other day. I couldn't see her back then, but I remember the feeling of this hand. I don't know why she is able to wield a Keyblade that was originally mine, but Olette can also wield Hero's Crest, which belonged to me. If you don't trust her, you don't trust me Leon."

With that, she laid her own hand on Naminè's and had to smile. She was a bit going overboard when she said that last part but truly felt like Naminè was definitely someone close to her.

"That's enough for today. Naminè, Olette, you can stay here for the night. Kairi dear, you really need to take some rest. I can see you're tired just from looking at you. Be a nice girl and take some sleep."

Aerith looked over to Tifa who was still standing near the stairs.

"Tifa, can you do me the favor and carry Yuffie over to her apartment? And Leon, Cid, I think this is enough for today."

Aerith stood up and walked over to where Yuffie was laying on the other couch. She had to heal her at least with a Curega spell before Tifa carried Yuffie to her own apartment.

"People of the light, give me your blessing! Hear my call to protect what is dear to me," she recited and a white light streamed all over the body of the ninja.

Leon had no choice but to leave now. Tifa would most likely snap if he strained her patience anymore than this.

Cid didn't care as much as Leon did, and had already left.

Kairi was tired to no end and was half asleep sitting on the couch. This had been too much of a long day. The fight with the Organization member  
was bad enough. But now, all of a sudden, Naminè appeared out of nowhere in Hollow Bastion. She wanted to ask a lot of questions but was too tired for now.

Olette didn't feel so good either. A real battle for one's life put some strains on one. The fact that she could have been killed that time didn't fully get to her. She was right now in another world, only barely knew two of those people and didn't understand a single thing they were talking about.  
For now, she only wanted to get some sleep. She was infinitely tired.

Naminè on the other hand didn't feel very tired. She hadn't had to fight at all. On the keyhole path had been another portal. Ones of the kind that Axel used. She didn't know what to look out for beside that one, so she took the direct approach and walked through it. After that, she immediately meet Tifa and was brought to the town. But now that she had met Kairi again, and even more, was allowed to sleep in the same house than she, it didn't matter much to her that they were all tired. There was still a tomorrow.

"You two can sleep in the room right next to Kairi's. We don't use that room the most time but it is somewhat of a guest room I think. I hope you both don't have any issues with each other. We only have that one room free," Tifa talked to Olette and Naminè.

"I don't even know her, how should I have issues with her?" Olette replied and looked at Naminè.

That girl didn't even listen to Tifa. She was sitting right next to Kairi and gazing at her, while Kairi was almost sleeping.

"Naminè was it, hm?" Olette sat down next to the blond.

"Hmm, yes. And you're Olette?" Naminè replied without letting lose of her view.

"Yeah. What are you looking at?" Olette was a bit puzzled.

It was somewhat obvious what Naminè was looking at, but Olette still couldn't help but to ask.

"Don't you think she has a pretty face?" asked Naminè, a bit surprised.

"What? I mean... yeah, she is somewhat pretty but... what are you saying? You're gazing at her this whole time because she is pretty?"

Olette was a bit confused. It seemed that it was normal here for one girl to stare at another just like that.

"It's maybe a bit dusty but your room is ready. Just up the stairs and the first room left. The bathroom is the first room on the right side. Can you carry Kairi to her room? I need to carry that useless ninja over there to her apartment," Tifa sighed and without waiting for an answer walked over to where Yuffie was laying.

Kairi had already fallen asleep. Aerith had vanished somewhere upstairs. She looked rather pale when Olette last saw her. Tifa had also left, carrying Yuffie to her apartment. The three were all alone.

Naminè had stopped gazing at Kairi and was already on her way upstairs. The only one left in the living room was Olette. And, of course, the sleeping Kairi.

"Just what is so cute about her face?" Olette wondered and knelt right next to Kairi.

The redhead had fallen asleep almost right after she had concluded her report. Leaning back, looking quite peaceful while sleeping, Kairi had her mouth slightly open and just seemed to wait for a prince to wake her up.

Without really knowing why she was doing it, Olette laid her hand on Kairi's cheek, sweeping a few hairs that had fallen in her face behind her ear.  
The sun was setting over the town and bathed the room in a dark red, making the atmosphere even weirder than before. Before she knew it, Olette had laid both hands on Kairi's shoulders and had moved her own face so close to Kairi's that she could feel her breath.

Olette felt a sudden rise of tension, like she did something that was not allowed and didn't want to get caught. It was... weird to just watch Kairi laying there while she was sleeping. Was it that what Naminè had been doing? Watching her like that? But...

She really was pretty. Olette didn't want to admit it, but this was the first time ever that she did think that someone else's face was really pretty.

"You really are making my head feel weird, Kairi..." she muttered.

It wasn't all that bad to feel like that. But that it was a girl that gave her that feeling was really unexpected. There wasn't any bias against people that liked the same gender in Twilight Town, but Olette just couldn't think of it as right. She couldn't see Hayner and Pence, or any other guy, as someone to be interested in, in that way. Olette didn't want to tell anyone about that. It made her really embarrassed to talk about things like that.

"Olette? What are you doing?" Naminè was calling from upstairs.

With a huge shock, realizing what she had been doing, Olette virtually jumped from the couch and tried to gather her thoughts. She didn't feel anything particular about Kairi, so what had just happened?

"I must be really tired..." Olette sighed and shook her head.

"Olette, you okay?"

Naminè had come down, standing rather close to Olette and gazing at her face. The brunette couldn't help but blush in that moment, with Naminè being so close to her. But nothing happened. Naminè didn't do anything beside letting out a small "hmm" and looked back at Kairi.

"Her face really is pretty. You think so too, don't you?" Naminè asked and turned around.

"Uh... yes, but... well, I don't really..." Olette stammered.

What kind of response should she give to that after doing something so obviously weird? She couldn't really say that she didn't care. That would just make her look embarrassed. She had to change the topic somehow. But what should they talk about? There happened so many things today but nothing particular came to mind.

"So you have a Keyblade too?" Olette asked.

"Yes. Kairi left me one after she found me at Oblivion Castle. I think it's called Monochrome. But I'm a total klutz with using it. And you?"

"I had my own but got another from Kairi. You see, the world I come from has a sport named struggle and-" Olette stopped when she realized that her own world had been still frozen when she left. Not only that, but it had been frozen in the middle of the struggle tournament.

Were the other people okay? Was the world okay? What if the guys in black had come back? Or the fire had taken over the town? Or the time had resumed and everyone noticed she was gone? How would she explain this to Hayner and Pence? "I just got into a life or death battle with some kind of Organization member and after that got to another world with some weird people that keep telling me I'm some chosen of the Keyblade?" The heck, nobody would believe that, not even Hayner.

"Olette? Are you okay? You look really pale" Naminè called her back into reality.

"Huh, what, oh... yes I just... remembered my own world. They will probably look for me and when they don't find me, they'll be worried," Olette sighed and asked herself when they could go home.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Kairi will think of something." Naminè gave her a small smile and looked outside the window.

"I sure hope so. I miss my friends."

Naminè didn't know how to respond to that. She never had any friends beside Axel, and her only choice was to believe she would meet him again, to trust his words. Olette on the contrary seemed to have had friends, a family and a world she belonged to. While Naminè couldn't think of a reason she would want to leave Kairi's side, there were likely plenty for Olette.

From upstairs, they could hear the shower being used. The water gurgling could be heard in the living room. Both girls stood there, one looking outside the window, the other gazing in thin air, both lost in thoughts. None of them said anything until the water stopped and Kairi gave out loud yawn. Both Olette and Naminè immediately looked at Kairi and couldn't help but smile upon that.

"I'm going to bed. You two should too. I know Leon, and tomorrow is going to be a long, long day... especially for you two. Good night."

Kairi went, without any further comment, upstairs and just seconds after, a loud shriek they could identify as Aerith's voice echoed through the house.

"I saw that one coming," Olette said and put her palm on her forehead.

Naminè just giggled and slowly walked towards the stairs and went upstairs. For a moment, Olette was all alone in the living room. It seemed indefinitely bigger than before, when all those people had been there. She didn't even know all their names. Just Kairi, Naminè, Tifa and Aerith.

It was somewhat unbelievable what had happened in just one day. She was just hoping that there weren't any nasty surprises the next morning.  
Olette had slowly come to terms that she truly had been fighting to survive. Had been fighting that man to live on. It was a really fearsome thought, but seeing how Kairi put up with it so easily, she didn't want to lose to her. It was childish and stupid, but Olette had been stubborn since forever and just didn't want to show that she was really frightened by the thought of fighting for one's life.

Upstairs rang a loud sound, as if something crashed or a locker had been knocked over. What was that Naminè girl doing? The shower didn't stop, so Aerith might not have heard it. Kairi was probably already asleep.

Olette gave another sigh and went upstairs, just to find Naminè covered in a huge amount of bed sheets, all over the place. That view was just too funny to hold in, and Olette just had to laugh on it. Naminè was sitting on the ground, with sheets all over her, making her look like one of those girls out of a horror movie.

The room was pretty much completely empty but a cabinet, a bunk bed and a mirror on the wall. Right over the bed was a window one could see the sky when laying down and the walls were painted with a pale brown tone.

"What are you doing, really?" Olette said with a really huge grin and went to free the struggling Naminè from the sheets.

"I thought I could put these on the beds. They're really really dusty but I tripped when I took them out of the cabinet." Naminè defended the little pride she had in that situation.

It took several minutes but together, they put successfully a sheet on each bed and the rest of them back in the locker. Both of them were  
sweating a lot since that room hadn't been used in ages and the air was very thin in there.

"I could use a shower too..." Olette moaned and picked on her clothes. They were downright soaked with dirt from that battle.

"Can I take the lower bed?" Naminè asked and looked expectantly over to the brunette.

"I don't mind. At home I'm sleeping in a bunk bed too, but there is no lower bed. I'll gag you if you snore, I warn you." Olette pointed her finger towards Naminè and laughed at her surprised face.

"Don't worry. I doubt you'll snore and even so, I'm not going to gag you, really"

"You scared me there for a moment. But you really seem like a nice girl Olette," Naminè said with a bright smile.

One second Olette had been looking on the ground from embarrassment, the next second a immense dust cloud filled the room. Naminè had jumped on one of the beds and stirred up all the dust. Olette immediately started coughing and had to run. The dust was so thick, they could hardly breath in there. Naminè came just seconds after her running out of the room.

"What are you two doing? Are you okay?" Aerith stood behind them, wrapped in several towels.

Naminè gazed a moment at her and noticed that Olette had turned around with bright red cheeks. Aerith really was beautiful but completely different from how Kairi was.

Aerith's hair was wrapped in a towel and turned up like a turban while the only thing that covered her bare skin was a long, white towel. There wasn't any particular reason for Olette to be embarrassed about that view, but she wasn't used to a woman walking around like that.

"It is just a bit dusty. But is it really okay that we take that room?" Naminè asked and looked curiously at Aerith.

"But sure. I think it is more than just coincidence that we all meet today. I will not call it fortunate but I'm happy to have you two here," Aerith said and looked in the room.

It was dusty all over, and the air still very sweltering. That was no condition to have someone sleep in there. Aerith really didn't like using magic for such trivial matters, but she was too tired and it was already evening, so there it couldn't be helped.

"Grace of the gentle wind, come upon my will," she recited quietly.

A huge gust of air streamed into the room, pushing the window open with force and dispersing the dust out of it. The room was still far from clean, but people would be able to sleep in there without any problem.

"This does the trick," Aerith smiled at the two girls and was about to walk off to her own bedroom.

"Can you teach me that magic?" Naminè blurted out.

"You are interested in magic? Your name is Naminè, am I right?"

"Hm, yes. I'm no good with the Keyblade, and Axel taught me fire magic, so I was thinking if you don't have anything else to do-" Naminè was cut off.

Aerith laid a hand on her head and smiled on her. Tifa had no great interest in magic, and Kairi lacked the ability and talent for the greater spells. Maybe that girl was more gifted.

"Sure. But tomorrow will be a long day, so take a good rest today, okay?"

Olette had slowly walked away, back into their room, and it really was bearable now. The fresh air of the night sky - the sun had sunk in the meanwhile - was clearing her mind. What a day this had been. But it didn't feel so bad after all.

"Olette, Aerith said the shower is free. You said you wanted to shower, right?" Naminè said while standing behind her.

She hadn't had much of a troublesome day so it was okay to shower later. Olette on the other hand was still wearing her dirty clothes from before and didn't have any spare clothes. But Aerith had already thought of something and had given Naminè some spare clothes from Kairi for the two.

"Aerith really is kind, don't you think?" Naminè said while sitting on her bed, wiggling with her legs forth and back.

"She really is. That Tifa doesn't look as kind to me, but she has this... Dependant aura, I think. Like you can completely trust her." Olette responded. "I'm going to take a shower now. I'll take the shorts and the shirt from the clothes. You okay with the dress?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Don't stir up another dust cloud," Olette said with a evil grin.

"I won't. I'll go and ask Kairi for some pencils and paper. I really like to draw and today a lot happened," Naminè replied.

Olette left the room, followed by Naminè. It was weird. Olette didn't knew anything about this world, didn't knew the people there, didn't knew who and what they were fighting, and not even anything about Kairi. But yet, she really felt a little bit like at home there.

Naminè knew. She knew their names, what they were fighting, a few details about their everyday lives, their relationships and even about this world. She had seen so much in her dreams that connected her with Kairi but to see this all by herself was truly something else. To be able to touch Kairi, to feel her hand on her cheek, to be so close to her.

Naminè could hear the shower being turned on, and knocked on the door that led to Kairi's room. It had a sign that said "Kairi's Room" on it. But the girl didn't answer. There was no response at all. Naminè knocked again and there was again no response.

Slowly, Naminè opened the door. The room was just like she had remembered. This room, she had seen it so many times in her dreams. It had a certain smell she didn't know from the dreams, a special sensation that only one could feel if really there.

Kairi was laying on her bed, the legs and arms stretched out, still dressed and quietly breathing. In the same manner as before, her mouth was slightly open and her head turned towards the room side of the bed.

Naminè walked past the desk and knelt right beside the bed. One of her arms was hanging from it, and the blond just wanted to hold her hand for a moment. All the time, she had thought about how it would feel to do that. How it would feel to hold the hand of the girl she thought so much about.

Taking her hand, Naminè felt weird. It was as if memories were flowing into her, no, it was more like they were being recalled. Things she never saw in Kairi's dreams, things that happened long ago were appearing before her. It stopped after a few seconds, but it gave Naminè a really weird feeling.  
As if a part of her she had lost and forgotten about was being restored.

Kairi moved in her sleep and Naminè was forced to let her hand go, but in exchange sat on the edge of the bed and again gazed at Kairi's face She never really had any contact with people but Axel. It was perfectly normal for her to be like this, being drawn to Kairi, the girl she had longed for in her dreams, the girl she thought about when she was alone. It didn't occur in the slightest to her that it was weird for normal people to do things like this.

With a slight smile, Naminè bent over Kairi, her hair almost tickling the face of the redhead. She just couldn't stop thinking about her. It hadn't been that way when Kairi had come for her. It was different from back then. Although she didn't know how, it that was of little issue for her. It was a weird feeling and Naminè didn't even attempt to try and explain this for herself. She just took it as it was and didn't think a moment about if this was right or wrong.

"You really make a cute face when you're sleeping, Kairi. I really... like...it... like... that..."

With each word, the girl bent lower and lower. Her hair was tickling Kairi's face, her neck, her lips. Not even a hand length was separating the two anymore. About to fall over, Naminè placed both hands right next to the shoulders of the girl that was sleeping so peacefully. Closing her own eyes, she got even closer, could feel the breath of the redhead on her lips, could feel her chest moving under with each breath. It was just a little distance between her and Kairi's lips, so very little that Naminè could feel a special tension rising in her head.

"Naminè, where are you? I'm done showering!" Olette called through the house.

Called back like that into reality, Naminè realized where she was; deep bent over Kairi, having almost kissed her. She hadn't intended to do that. It was a nice sensation Naminè had felt when she was so close to Kairi.

Without completing her objective, and with slightly red cheeks, Naminè left the room and got back to her room.

"Where were you? Did you find what you looked for?" Olette asked, drying her hair with a towel.

She already wore the clothes that Aerith had given her. It didn't fit so well but for now it was better than her dirty clothes. The shirt was a bit too tight on the chest but the shorts were fitting quite well.

"I couldn't find them. Kairi is already sleeping so I had to look alone. I'll go and take a shower now."

Olette looked a bit puzzled about the different behavior to before, but maybe it was just her imagination. She didn't know anything about Naminè, so there wasn't really anything she could say.

Now that she'd had a shower, and Naminè was taking one, there was nothing to do. Aerith had vanished into her own bedroom, and Tifa seemed to be still outside. Olette didn't even remember what it was that Tifa was doing.

The room was just empty and after taking a shower, she didn't feel like immediately sleeping. It must been already past ten and it was dark out.

How did all this happen? She was right here, in another world, had met both of the girls she had seen on the ornaments on the glass tower, had fought for her life, met some really weird people and had learned far more than she had ever wanted to know. But now, there were even more questions. What was she doing here? Was this all a coincidence? Why was she able to summon one of those weapons? Her pendant, her beloved keepsake had been one of these weapons all along. Was this... fate?

"Fate or not, I want to go back to Twilight Town. I miss Hayner and Pence... when I'll be able to go back to a normal life."

A normal life. Training for the next struggle tournament. Working at the accessory shop. Playing with Hayner and Pence. Boring days that just wouldn't end. All that seemed so far away that she couldn't reach it.

Olette held her keepsake, the Keyblade pendant, in her hand and looked at it. It didn't seem any different from before. Did this really transform into a weapon? She could hardly believe it. And what were all those stories about the chosen of the Keyblade, the Heartless or whatever they were called, the Nobodies and what not.

"I wonder if Kairi is forced to do this. Aerith and Tifa really seem like nice people, but... why would anyone fight those things voluntarily? I don't understand it..."

It wasn't a pleasant feeling to fight that Organization member. It was not even exciting. Olette had been really scared in the end, having realized that this wasn't just about winning or losing a game. If one lost, one lost his life. That was too high a price.

"Why did they come to my world?... My world... that sounds like I've been to a dozen others. I'm already talking like it's normal to know that there are many worlds. But... I'm a little bit curious how other worlds look."

Olette hadn't noticed that the noise from the shower had stopped. How long had she talked to herself? Turning around, she laid on her back and looked through the window. There were so many stars. Was every star out there really a world? Was her own world one of the stars she could see right now? Olette had never dreamed of this. Never dreamed to go to another world.

If it had been under other circumstances, maybe... just maybe, she could have really enjoyed this.

Naminè had entered the room. Her hair was still wet and steaming from the hot water. Naminè had already changed into the dress from Kairi; she didn't want to sleep in her usual clothes.

"I wonder where Tifa is," Naminè said.

"I don't know. But I'm really tired and my head hurts. I'm going to sleep," Olette replied.

"I think thats a good idea. I'm going to turn off the lights."

"Please do."

Just seconds later, the room was wrapped in darkness. Only a bit of light from the stars was shining through the window. Olette looked a last time at the night sky and was thinking of her own world. Naminè held on the Monochrome pendant and put it under her pillow.

"Good night Olette."

"You too, good night Naminè."

End of Chapter VI

Author Note: Thanks to g3rain1 and Stormrose Dewleaf, first one for sticking as my content beta since almost ten chapters now, and latter for doing a great job as grammar beta. I hope you liked this afterlude, for whoever is nice enough to read this.


	7. The feelings I have

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter VII

_The feelings I have_

"Everyone here?"

Leon was leaning on the wall, inside of Merlin's house. The room was filled to the edge with people. Everyone that had been to the trip to Twilight Town as well as Leon, Cid, Naminè and Merlin himself were there.

"We'll start with an in detail report on the events that occurred inTwilight Town. I'd like to hear first how you came into the possession of a Keyblade and got involved in the fight against the Organization, Olette," Leon said and pointed to the brunette.

All three girls were sitting close to each other. They had slept untilit was almost noon and didn't have much opportunity to speak with each other. Tifa and Aerith had avoided waking them up. This day, this report, would be the longest in all history of Hollow Bastion.

"I don't know where to start this. This Keyblade what you call it, this weapon, it forms itself from a pendant I've had since forever. Not sol ong ago, I started to have dreams about a glass tower. I didn't think that it was related to all this at first, but it was the place I first summoned the Keyblade. I wanted to ask Kairi about it, but didn't yet. I also saw there huge stained glass ornaments in the ground that showed both Kairi and Naminè and their weapons," started Olette.

Leon looked over to Kairi. They had heard about this glass tower back when they asked Kairi how she had gotten the Keyblade. Although this seemed different from what Kairi had experienced, it was related.

"I don't know why there were ornaments of Naminè and me. When I last saw that place, that was before Destiny Islands first got overrun by the Heartless; there weren't any ornaments of other people. Just the seven princesses and on the last one a gigantic ornament of several Keyblades. I never saw one of the things on those ornaments again," gave Kairi her part of that story.

It was Aerith's turn to speak up.

"How about Naminè? Dear, did you dream, or rather, go to such a place too? How did you get your Keyblade? I know we wanted to start with Olette, but we won't understand what really happened if we don't do the related matters first."

Leon agreed on this, and all eyes went over to Naminè who just sat on a chair and looked rather confused now. She didn't really know what the others were talking about.

"When Kairi found me in Castle Oblivion and the castle started to collapse, she lost one of her pendants. I picked it up. The first time I used it as Keyblade was in Twilight Town. Axel was looking for another way inside that mansion because the door was blocked by a really huge lock. I had one time that dream when I saw Kairi using her Keyblade to open a lock. I somehow opened it, and since back then, I can make it change its shape from pendant to Keyblade."

Everyone in that room was quite puzzled. That was completely different in any and every detail from how Kairi and Olette got their Keyblades. How was it even possible that Naminè could use a Keyblade from someone else? But then again, Olette could also use Hero's Crest.

"So, in short, while Kairi and Olette got their respective Keyblade on, I'll call it "Tower of the Chosen", Naminè pretty much just got hers from Kairi and could use it like that. That would mean that Keyblades aren't restricted to a certain user," Leon summarized.

A short break took place. Leon was deep in thought and in the meanwhile, Cid took his place.

"Olette, can you try to summon Monochrome, the Keyblade Naminè uses? After that, I'd like to see if Naminè can summon your Circle of Life. That will give me some valuable data to work on."

Naminè didn't want to give away the Monochrome pendant; it was something very special to her, and Olette didn't want to give away her keepsake either. Kairi was the one to oppress that experiment.

"I don't think it works that way. Keyblades react closely to someone's feelings, and you know that Cid. Naminè said something about seeing what I did through my dreams. I think that is the reason that she can use Monochrome. I don't quite understand how Olette can use Hero's Crest, even maintain two Keyblade's at once, so easily, but I think in that case, she fits much better to it than I do," Kairi explained.

Cid was not satisfied but it would be quite a problem to force them to do the experiment. Kairi's explanation was quite good too, so it wasn't really absolutely necessary. However, he wouldn't give up. Maybe he would ask one of the girls later when they were alone.

"Naminè dear, what do you mean when you say that you saw Kairi in your dream? You didn't know her when that happened, am I right?" Aerith butted in.

"Hmm, no. I had never meet her personally. But I've seen her often in my dreams. I don't dream about her anymore since I left Castle Oblivion, but that doesn't matter now. After all, Kairi is now right next to me," Naminè replied and gave Kairi a amazingly cute look.

While the redhead was slightly blushing from what Naminè did, Olette took the lead.

"The Keyblade Kairi gave me, the Hero's Crest you say, was much harder to use than my own Keyblade. But I really didn't have any problem with summoning it at all. It was just bigger and way more massive than my own Keyblade. I don't know anything about this Keyblade business at all, and I've never dreamed once about Kairi. The first time I "saw" her was the ornament on the glass tower."

Most of the people tried to think of a logical explanation. The whole thing was much harder and more complicated than it first looked. It was Tifa that first spoke and told her idea of how the Keyblades worked.

"What if Naminè and Olette are both related to Kairi? We all know Kairi sealed Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. What if, through that, Naminè's and Olette's hearts became connected to her that way? Wouldn't that explain anything?"

Kairi waved away. It wasn't that easy.

"Right, I sealed it, but I don't think that it was the reason. Then how would you explain Naminè and her dreams, and Olette living in that world. Cid, did you finish the analysis of it? I'm thrilled to hear what really is up with that world. I've never been to a world where time just froze and remained like that."

Olette gave Kairi a annoyed glare. That was her world, her hometown they were speaking about it like it was some fantastic place to research or a tourist attraction.

Cid, finally in his element, lit another cigarette and started to explain. Before the first word could leave his lips, a wind spell from Yuffie blew away the cigarette.

"No smoking when we girls are here," she complained.

With a clearly worse mood, Cid started his report.

"That's one fine piece of data I've got there. That whol' world is an artificial created and most likely monitored by someone. It's based on somethin' like a reality data emulator that's showing the core part ofth' emulation-" Cid was cut off by Tifa.

"Okay, okay, okay. Now in a way that everyone understands what you are talking about. Leave out all the technical nonsense."

Cid grumbled some words the others couldn't understand and continued his report.

"Like I way sayin', the world isn't real. It's more of a virtual reality."

Olette looked quite baffled. She must have misheard him. Yeah. There was no way that...

"Like inside a computer. I'm not sure, but I think someone set that up for little Olette here. Pure speculation that, but without the Organization, I gotta doubt that we'll land somewhere beside the real Twilight Town. You see, I don't know why but that virtual world was supposed to be isolated from the world paths. At least, it doesn't really make any sense to me to setup such a thing and then make it open like a terminal without any-" again was Cid cut off by Tifa.

"We get it, we get it already. So, that world Kairi and Aerith-" a cold glare from Yuffie reminded her that she was also there, "and Yuffie found Olette, was a fake? What for?"

Cid shrugged and looked at the celling. That, even he didn't know.

"I dunno. Don't ask me. Can only guess that. Maybe some sort of prison because the one that set this thing up knew that Olette was a Keyblader? And didn't want her to awaken? My guess is as good as yours there," he said.

A loud crash clang from where the girls were sitting. Olette had fallen from her chair, the eyes wide open and as pale as marble.

"You... you're kidding, right? What's this about, my world... my friends, family and anyone else being fake? You... you got to be kidding me, damn it! What do you know anyway?! I've been living there, living with my friends and family for sixteen years, and now you show up and tell me that's all fake? Like I believe that! You people show up in my world, some crazy guy is trying to kill Kairi and me and you now you tell me I've been living inside a fake world?" Olette yelled at Cid and got louder with every word.

Kairi was about to say something to her, but Cid should really have considered her feelings. She would probably have reacted the same way if they told her Destiny Islands had been a fake world.

Olette didn't even wait for anyone to say something. She could feel her rage come up her throat and it got harder and harder to yell without breaking out in tears. She usually didn't cry easily, but the manner they just talked about her world being a fake was much too cold. They didn't care a bit how she felt. Without thinking twice, she kicked over her chairs and pushed open the door and ran out. It won't matter what they would think now. The one thing she wanted right now was to go back to Twilight Town. To see Hayner and Pence, to see her family. To see the people that man had called fake. To prove they were real.

"Cid... did you ever consider for a single moment what harm such a explanation would inflict on her? I can't quite believe that something like a fake world really exists, but even so, you should have spent a moment of thinking how Olette would feel," Aerith said and looked on the ground.

The mood was really depressing right now. While Leon said nothing and just sighed, Yuffie was non-stop complaining to Cid. Tifa didn't know what to say, so she just picked up the chair and placed it right. Naminè didn't really understand what Olette had been so angry about, but even she could feel that Cid had said something that Olette really hated.

"I'll look after her. Cid, think twice about what you say from now on. If what you say is true, we won't be able to bring her back to that world. If not, she will stay at her own world for good after this," Kairisaid, stood up and left the room.

Naminè wanted to follow her but was held back by Aerith. The pink dressed woman just shook her head slightly with a smile.

"Leave her be for the moment."

--Valiant Hearts--

"What do they know anyway? Showing up like that in my world, with those other guys, and telling me I'm some chosen of the Keyblade and all. Twilight Town can't be fake. They were all real. And why would anyone keep me in such a world? Because I can wield a Keyblade like that man said? That's just ridiculous. I didn't even have this damn weapon till they came to my world!"

Olette summoned her Circle of Life Keyblade and looked at it. It may have been her keepsake, and she really held it dear, but it was also the root of all misery that had happened to her lately. If she hadn't had this thing...

She bit on her lips, looking at the Keyblade like it was at fault for it all and threw it as far away as she could. No keepsake, no matter how important it was, was worth fighting for her life or worse, having those people talk about her world like that.

"It won't go away."

Kairi was standing a few steps behind her. This whole scenario reminded her of her early times as the chosen one. It was more than just hard, it was painful. To lose her friends, to lose her world, to lose everything and then stand before the huge quest of defeating Ansem.

Just a few seconds after, Circle of Life materialized in Olette's hand. She tried to throw it away again but stopped midway.

Kairi did a few steps and stand right beside Olette, gazing at the sky. She could understand her a bit. She had also tried to throw away her mission, just run away and leave everything behind. It was really hard to accept the truth sometimes. In this case, they didn't even know if her world really was fake.

"I once wanted to run away too. Do you want to know what held me back?" Kairi started.

Olette didn't want to hear it. Didn't want to talk to anyone. She sat down and looked away. Kairi didn't do anything bad. Olette really wanted to run away from what Cid had said. Wanted to run away, was afraid of looking at what was before her. Afraid to know the truth.

"You know, when I first got my Keyblade, I lost my whole world and my best friends. I was alone in a unknown world, and the Heartless were after me. It was Leon and the others that first found me and told me about the Keyblade. I didn't know anything and was really easygoing and a bit naive back then. I had no idea what ordeal was coming. / And then... after a while, I found out that the one of the masterminds behind the heartless, a witch called Maleficent, had imprisoned my friends. I was really angry," Kairi told Olette about her past.

"And what does that have to do with me!?" Olette snapped at her but didn't feel so bad anymore.

Kairi continued without answering Olette's question.

"When I learned that they had become servants for Maleficent in order to keep their hearts how I later learned, I lost all hope. How should I fight against my best friends? I wanted to throw away anything, wanted to run away from what I had to do. I mean... I didn't accept the fact that Sora and Riku, my friends, had sided with the darkness. I was really down then."

Olette was looking with great eyes at Kairi. She had no idea that Kairi went through such things.

"Back then Aerith talked to me. It wasn't much she said to me, but it kept me going. "You need to believe. Believe and everything will work out fine," is what Aerith told me. So what if Sora and Riku were on the enemy's side? I just had to get them back! And in the end, I beat Maleficent. But she wasn't the one that had been pulling the strings behind all that. It was Ansem. The one that had build this world, this Hollow Bastion. I was really shocked back then. The battle against him was really hard, but what came after that was even harder."

Olette had completely forgotten that she had been really angry. Kairi, who stand right next to her, was looking a bit different from before. It was almost as if one could see how much she had suffered back there.

"What happened to your friends? Aren't they living around here?" she asked, completely in the blue what really happened.

"When I just had gotten them back, when I had beat Ansem, I found Kingdom Hearts. I was really scared what I saw inside there. Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, was overrun by the Heartless. I had no choice but to seal the door that lead to Kingdom Hearts. But I was too weak to do it alone."

Kairi had sat down, next to Olette and looked at the pendant that was formed like a star. It was the one she used for Oathkeeper. Pulling a completely black one from her girdle, she showed both of them Olette.

"Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Oathkeeper is from Sora. It is the proof of our promise to meet again. Oblivion is from Riku. It is a symbol for eternal friendship, no matter what happens. Both of them sacrificed themselves to seal Kingdom Hearts. We were only able to make it because they used their strength to seal Kingdom Hearts from the inside. And I had lost them again. Although all the worlds that had been lost to the Heartless had returned, and the barrier that divided the worlds was reconstructed, I had lost my friends again. I'm still looking for them. And I will find them. No matter what I must do."

Kairi had finished her story and looked over at Olette. The brunette had been gazing at Kairi for quite a while, and noticed now that she was still looking at Kairi, although she had long stopped talking.

"I didn't know you've had it so rough. I don't think I could have pulled that off," she said a bit meek.

"Do you know why I told you all this?" Kairi asked and for the first time since they were out there, she smiled.

Olette's heart made a little jump when she did, and looked rather embarrassed away. That must have been because she was really emotionalright now.

"Because you wanted me to know that you had it much harder than I?" Olette asked.

"No. I told you because I think that you should understand that you should never give up or run away. No matter how painful it is. Well... do we go back? I'm sure Cid didn't intend to be mean. He is really great with machines and all, but... not really that great with humans."

Kairi stand up, and right next to Olette, holding out her hand to her.

Olette couldn't help it but smile over herself and take Kairi's hand. She was right. There wasn't much use worrying about it like that. If it really was true, she would beat the one responsible to a pulp. If not, there was no sense in worrying about it ahead of time.

The two girls went back to Merlin's house and found Cid with a slightly blue eye. Apparently, Tifa had punched him after he had made a really improper comment about Olette. What it was, they wouldn't give away. They sat down back on their chairs and no one mentioned what had happened.

"Leaving the matter of Olette's world aside, we won't be able to do anything about it anyway. We should focus on the Organization," Leon said and got back to the reports.

"From what we know, they didn't really expect us to be there. Although they tried to kill Yuffie and me," Tifa cracked with her knuckles and grumbled something no one was able to understand, "I have to doubt that it was their objective from the beginning," Aerith made her report.

"They were after Axel, I think. That is what he said," Naminè blurted out.

Leon's attention was now focused all on Naminè.

"Who is this Axel and what is his relation with the Organization?" Leon asked and took a couple of steps towards Naminè.

"He is a member of the Organization. And he is the one that helped me to escape from Castle Oblivion. I don't know where is he is right now, but I'm sure he is okay. He is a really nice guy," Naminè said with a cute little smile and looked to Kairi who sat right next to her.

"This is going to give me a headache for sure," Leon complained and chose not to ask any deeper detail on that. It didn't look like Naminè even knew who the Organization really was.

"Why don't we take a break Leon? This is really starting to take a bit long," Aerith proposed.

Yuffie agreed and left without further notice. She would have to report her fight against that old man later to Leon, and that alone was a huge pain in the ass. She still felt depleted and exhausted from that trip, even though Aerith healed her.

"Tifa, Aerith, can you two come with me for a moment?" Merlin asked the two women and walked past them out of the room.

Kairi felt that it was time for a change of place. Naminè seemed to follow her anywhere, and Olette still wasn't in the best mood for this. It was almost past afternoon and the sun was already slowly setting. It was the ideal time to visit "that" spot.

"You two, come with me," Kairi said to Olette and Naminè with a mysterious smile and left the room.

Naminè didn't even think twice about following her and was right behind Kairi. Olette just wanted to get away from Cid, and this was a welcome reason to get out of this house.

Kairi was standing right outside the house. The time was exactly right. In a few minutes, it would be the best view from "that" spot. She had found that spot while looking for keyhole portals and just happened to notice the amazing view one had from there. It was quite a hassle to get there, though.

--Valiant Hearts--

"That girl, Naminè was her name, yes? I can sense a great magical potential from her. Much greater than what Kairi is capable of, I am sure."

Merlin was talking to Aerith and Tifa right behind his house.

"Of how great are you speaking, Merlin?" Aerith asked.

She had felt it too. And Naminè had even asked her to teach her magic. While the girl seemed to lack any proper education in fighting, and was rather timid too, there was this huge aura that surrounded her.

"Not quite as much as you are capable of, but it should be sufficient, with proper training I say, to master even the great magic of the non-elemental third ranks," Merlin said, his voice more and more going down to a whisper, as if talking about a big secret.

Aerith was rather surprised. Kairi could use magic to a certain extent, and she hadn't reached her limits yet. But it was questionable if Kairi would ever be able to use Reflecga and Graviga. To have a naturalpotential of that class, Naminè really must be gifted.

"I don't think I'll be able to teach her properly. I've had my problems with Kairi too, until you took over. Young girls these days are just too-" Merlin got cut off by Tifa.

"So, basically, you're asking Aerith to teach her magic? I don't think it is-"

Aerith interrupted her lover. "I'll do it. I can see that Naminè really likes Kairi, and from what she told us, she doesn't have a place to go anyway. She will most likely stay with Kairi. And I think that is a wonderful thing. Not because we then have two Keybladers but because Kairi is really isolated from kids her own age otherwise," Aerith said.

Tifa was surprised. Usually, Aerith wouldn't have agreed so easily to teach a almost completely stranger girl magic. But she understood what Aerith was saying. It really seemed like Kairi was isolated from anyone but the ones affiliated to the keyholes.

"What about Olette Merlin? The other girl, the brunette?" Tifa asked.

"I'm sorry to say that, but I couldn't even sense the slightest bit of magic potential in her. I doubt she will ever be able to use as much as the first rank elemental spells. I have never seen someone that untalented for the arcane art before," Merlin said with a sad face.

"That is quite a surprise. Since she is able to wield two Keyblades at once and even fight that way from what she said, I thought she was a natural talent."

Aerith's expression was a musing one. It seemed to be quite a coincidence that Naminè was a magic natural, while Olette could even maintain two Keyblades but completely lacked any magical talent.

"So I really was right."

Tifa's face graced the biggest grin Aerith had seen in a long time.

"What do you mean?" Aerith was now really curious.

"It's really easy sweetheart. If you excel at one thing, it comes always at the cost of another. Naminè and Olette are really close to what we are. Well, except for the loving part." Tifa gave Aerith a short kiss on the last words.

"Olette can maintain two Keyblades. That means, she really excels at physical combat. Naminè is the complete opposite. That is just like we two. Kairi balances magic and physical ability. She is more of a jack of all trades, while the other two excel at their own domain. If we only could get Olette to stay and help us out... Naminè would anyway, seeing how she clings to Kairi. They would make a really good team I think," Tifa finished her explanation.

Aerith was rather surprised. She didn't tend to think about things that way. After all, Olette most likely didn't want to stay here and would go home. Naminè, though, had nowhere to go.

Maybe it was a wink of fortune that those two appeared.

--Valiant Hearts--

"Aren't we there yet? I'm starting to get height issues," Olette complained.

They were high over the living quarter from Hollow Bastion. Currently walking past one of the colossal looking balconies, they were more than three-quarters on the way to the top level of the outer wall.

There was no real way there. Although Kairi seemed to know where to step and how to move, the other two were a bit scared. They had passed the highest point indoors a few minutes ago and were now about to pass the last point before they could see where Kairi was leading them.

On top of Hollow Bastion, far above anything that would block ones view,there was a platform. It almost looked like it had been intended to be used as observation deck long ago, but the actual way up there had never been finished. Kairi had found this once on the look for a keyhole portal that lead to unexpected places, and had instead found this.

Kairi had stopped moving and seemed to wait for something. She was standing right in front of a deep abyss with no visible end.

"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous to climb up here just for this?" Olette asked and stopped right next to Kairi.

Naminè, quite puffed, couldn't get a word out and didn't even want to stand another minute and just sat down on a rock next to Kairi.

"It's not really dangerous once you know how you have to go. In a few minutes there should be a floating platform from the lower levels come by. I don't know why they never finished a actual way up here beside this, but you will see that the view is really worth climbing up here. Just don't tell Aerith and Tifa about this. I really like them but they sometimes worry too much about things like this," Kairi said and gave both Olette and Naminè a really serious look.

"I wonder if my parents are worried about me, and my friends too," Olette asked and looked on the ground.

But her town was most likely still frozen. And with that, her parents and friends too. What if the town stayed like that even when she had returned?

Naminè but had just to smile on Kairi's reminder.

"We can't stay too long. Maybe a ten minutes or one-quarter-hour but that's it. Leon will explode if we stay away for too long. I'm sure he is pretty much at his limit dealing with this."

Kairi first looked at Naminè and then at Olette. Yes, he must be. It was really out of the blue that those two, almost at once, appeared and proven themselves as Keyblader. She herself was really surprised, especially how Naminè clung to her. Olette seemed to just want to go back to her town, while Naminè didn't seem likely to ever leave Kairi's side.

--Valiant Hearts--

"Leon, have you seen Kairi and the girls?" Tifa was asking the obviously annoyed man.

"No. And I hope that changes soon. We're not done yet," he grumbled and his eyes seemed to gradually drill holes in the ground.

"Aerith! Leon didn't seen them either. Where could they have gone off to?" Tifa yelled outside the building.

Aerith, who didn't feel like yelling, came back in, which made Leon wonder why Tifa had yelled in the first place, and had a worried expression.

"Really, I wonder where they have gone off to. There wasn't any alarm, so they didn't leave Hollow Bastion, and there also shouldn't be any Heartless in the town. I don't want her to fight in her condition yet," Aerith said and looked at the ceiling.

In the last few weeks, it happened occasionally that Kairi vanished without a trace and just came back with a really astounding expression. Where she was off to, she wouldn't say. It was always some excuse like "I was just wandering around. You must have missed me," or something alike. Aerith knew that she sometimes worried too much, Tifa too, but that Kairi had secrets before her was something she didn't like in the slightest.

"We obviously can't continue the meeting with those three missing. It is bad enough that Kairi has gone off somewhere without notice, but the other two girls are also gone," Leon muttered and looked over to Cid, who was working again on his terminal.

"Olette and Naminè," Tifa said.

"What?" Leon had problems following the red line.

"Their names. They have names Leon. You aren't calling us "Kairi's foster parents" too when we're not around, are you?" Tifa complained further.

Leon rolled his eyes and looked even more annoyed than before. It was his decision to use whatever form he pleased and Tifa should finally stop complaining about every single thing he did or decided. She still seemed to gnaw on what happened long ago when they had freed Hollow Bastion.

"I'm not. You should stop jumping on me for whatever I say just because-" He was cut off by Aerith who slowly had pulled Tifa away from him.

"Let's look for her Tifa. See you later Leon," she said and pulled Tifa more or less gently with her.

Cid turned around on his chair and gave first the door, then Leon a questioning look.

"Y'know, you just escaped a beating. Why the hell can you two not gotta get along a'ready? It ain't easy for Aerith either like that, y'know," he said and Leon turned around.

"Mind your own business."

"Ex'cuse me but that ain't only your business Leon."

Without another word, Leon left the room and banged the door so hard that Cid was sure he had to repair it later.

--Valiant Hearts--

The observation deck was quite a place. It was surrounded by a giant glass wall that had one opening in each sky direction. Inside, there were no instruments but around the center a few benches to sit down. It was a bit cold up there but one could see the whole town and further, much further, into the horizon. It was almost like being beyond the clouds, like flying. The smoke that emitted from the castle didn't reach this height and the view was clear and free. The sun was about to set and the whole town was bathed in deep red light, and the horizon was a view one would never forget. The sky was red and yet not. It was more as if she was burning, the sun being the core and the flame slowly getting weaker up. Down, a deep red, color of a burning passion, above the color faintly weaker, showing a respect to the upcoming night sky.

"Every time I come here, I remember my real home. It is just a town, and a small island for me, but I still miss it. I like Hollow Bastion, I like the people here... but-" Kairi stopped and just continued to look in the sky.

"I know what it feels like. Some of it, at least. I'm here, and I even know you two just barely, not to mention those other people. All my friends, my family, my town, my world, everything seems so far away that it hurts. I really want to go back." Olette paused. "Kairi, how much... how much of what they told me is true? The whole thing about my town, my world being artificial and all that. The whole Keyblade thing and those Nobody things they keep talking about. I feel that I can trust you. I don't think you'll lie to me, because you know what this feels like."

She could feel that this put a lot of pressure on Kairi. It wasn't nice to tell one the truth about such things. And it wasn't easy either. Olette could feel how her throat was dry and that whatever Kairi would answer, would also be the truth.

"I can't say for sure. But we never, not even once and we have been to many worlds, encountered a event like that. The town wasn't frozen when we first entered. It suddenly happened a bit later. I can't really say when; there was no one around and I didn't have the time to pay attention on that either. There was also something odd about the portal. You see, normally, as soon as I leave the gateway, the portal closes. That is what happened with every portal so far. What Cid said really sounds odd. I can't think of a reason to hold a Keyblader imprisoned like that, unless of course it is done by the Heartless. But then... why didn't they just make you a Heartless? And I didn't find any Heartless in that world too. It just doesn't make sense to me. We can try to find a passage to Twilight Town but I can't promise you anything." Kairi took a deep breath and gazed at the now almost gone sun.

"Do you dislike being here so much Olette? I know it's different for you and me, but I'm really happy to be here," Naminè said and got closer to Kairi.

Kairi was a bit startled when Naminè clung to her arm and leaned against her. It was a bit awkward but she let it go for now.

"It's not that... I mean..." Olette didn't know how to answer this. It was less that she hated being in Hollow Bastion, it was more of hating not being in Twilight Town.

"Naminè, the first thing you remember is walking around a completely foreign town, right?" Kairi asked and looked at the girl that was still leaned against her. It was a torn feeling between a voice in her head that screamed awkward and one further inside that didn't object at all.

"Hm, yes. I guess that's why I can't understand Olette. For me, being here is what it must feel like coming home for you two. And you are here too Kairi. Especially that is what makes this place special to me," Naminè said and even blushed slightly.

Olette had her own thoughts about that, while Kairi apparently didn't notice it or pretended not to see or heard it.

"I wonder if I can get home," Olette said, and then continued to watch the sunset.

"I really would like to say "I promise I'll get you home" but I can't do that. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go back to my own world. But one thing I can promise. I'll try my best to find a way to Twilight Town. I know how it feels to be away from one's home world, and I don't want anyone else to feel like that," Kairi said and joined, still with Naminè on her side, Olette on viewing the sunset.

Minutes or hours went past, they couldn't say. It was just too amazing a view. The dark red sun that slowly vanished behind the horizon, and on the other side the moon that was ever so slowly showing his presence, showing up. So far up there, they could see the stars shining bright and clearly.

Kairi was feeling a bit awkward with Naminè constantly clinging to her. On one side, it was nice to have someone that close, on the other side, there were a thousand voices that screamed this was just downright wrong. The happy smile on Naminè's face was the only thing that prevented Kairi from freeing herself. It was bad enough that Olette felt bad; she didn't need Naminè to join that state.

"It's almost dark. Shouldn't we head back? I don't know how long we've been up here," Olette said and tried to escape the now almost as amazing view of the moon that was moving up from the other side of the horizon

Kairi was taken back to reality in an instant. She had never stayed so long up there when there was a important meeting. On top of that, she had taken Olette and Naminè with her. Initially, she had wanted to think of a excuse for vanishing from view for so long with the girls, but she had totally busted it.

"Aerith and Tifa are going to behead me," Kairi said and wanted to stand up, now finally noticing she had been practically cuddling with Naminè. A bit scared of what had been going on without her noticing, she freedherself a bit too fast and Naminè fell over.

"Ah, I'm sorry Naminè. But we need to go at once. I'm, or better, we three are in some serious misery if they ever find out where we have been," Kairi said and tried to get rid of both awkward and happy,feelings at once. There was definitely something odd about Naminè.

Looking quite disappointed, Naminè got up and the three went back together. They took a entire different route, because one had to actually jump down from the moving platform when going up, so the same way was not eligible.

The way down was going much faster. They would chose a way inside and reached the bottom castle floor in a bit less than ten minutes.

"Any of you a good idea what to tell Aerith and Tifa where we have been? I don't," Kairi said and looked like a child that just knew she was about to get in trouble with her parents.

"Hm, no."

"What do you say usually?"

Kairi smiled a bit embarrassed.

"I just tell them I was taking a stroll. But I doubt they're going to believe it this time. After all, I've taken both of you with me. They looked for us for sure, and I doubt they're going to believe they missed all three of us all the time."

"And they believe that? Wow, they sure trust you," Olette said and had to laugh.

Naminè also giggled and found Kairi's nervous expression quite funny.

"Let's just go back for now. If we stay here any longer it's not going to help," Olette suggested and looked around. "Which way is outside? This Castle is gigantic!" she complained.

Kairi pointed over to a big door at the end of the hall.

The three slowly were going to the town. About halfway, Olette stood still and seemed to have a great idea.

"That Castle really is big. How about we just pretend you showed us around in there and, ehm, Naminè got lost?" Olette suggested, innocent looking away when suggestion the one that got lost was Naminè.

"I won't leave Kairi's side," Naminè said and looked just as innocent as before.

Olette hated to pretend she had gotten lost, but Kairi didn't seem to lie. The two women would really give her a hellfire.

"Okay, okay. You showed us the castle and I got lost. You found me in the end at.. ehm.. I was in that one room with the giant keyhole portal, okay?" Olette said.

"Sounds good. You went off looking for a Keyhole portal and got lost. I'm sure they're going to believe that," Kairi said and relaxed a bit.

--Valiant Hearts--

"So, Olette got lost when she went off on her own to look for a keyhole portal and it took you two hours to find her?" Tifa summarized.

They had finally found the three. Aerith's analytic spell had revealed that they had indeed been in the castle. But she herself had looked all over it. It was a bit weird that she should have missed them every time.

"Kairi. We're just worrying about you. What if the Organization attacks you and we don't know where you are? And now, even Olette and Naminè had just vanished like that. From what it looks like, the Organization is also after her. Tell us where you're going the next time, okay?" Aerith said and was looking a bit disappointed in Kairi.

That look hurt Kairi more than she had hoped. She really didn't like to worry Aerith and Tifa like that; after all, they did their best to be like real parents to her.

"I... I promise I won't go off like that again," Kairi said and looked ashamed on the ground.

"If it were up to me, I would ground you a month for this, so be happy Aerith is satisfied with just that miss. I can't really make rules for you two, but it won't help if you go off like that," Tifa said and walked off, not without hitting a nearby wall so hard that the half building shook a bit.

"Tifa was really, really mad Kairi. Don't do this again, or at least chose another excuse," Aerith said so quietly that it must be impossible for anyone but the girls to hear her.

"I only said to Tifa that you three were in the castle, but my analysis spells are really accurate. I know where you three were, and I can't resent you for being so late. It is really nice up there. but after this, you need to look out. I know you're almost seventeen, but still, we're worried about you. And about you two too. Naminè, Olette, the same what for Kairi goes, goes for you two. I'm going to calm down Tifa a bit. Leon insists like a lion that we continue the meeting even now. Hurry back to Merlin's house, I'll be there in a bit," Aerith said and then went after Tifa.

"You really have nice parents," Naminè said.

"Even though they're not my real parents, I do think of them as such," Kairi said and walked towards the direction of Merlin's house.

"How did they come to... you know... have a relationship and all that?" Olette asked out of curiosity.

Kairi had to sigh. She didn't think much of Aerith and Tifa having a romantic relationship, but when outsider started to ask her about it, she always was a bit embarrassed to explain it.

"They're a couple, aren't they," Naminè said, completely out of the blue.

Kairi nodded before she actually noticed what Naminè had said and was a bit surprised.

"Is it that obvious?" Kairi asked and looked at Naminè.

"Yes. It is really obvious. Was it a secret?" Naminè replied.

"Tifa kissed Aerith right in front of my eyes. It really is obvious that they're having a romantic relationship Kairi," Olette said and then looked over at Naminè.

The blond girl was steadily looking at Kairi. And that were the very same eyes that Aerith had when looking at Tifa. How did her own eyes look when she was looking at Kairi? Olette had pretended not to see, but she really was annoyed how bluntly Naminè was flirting Kairi.

"And here I am, completely embarrassed about it and you two already knew," Kairi said and had to laugh. Afterwards, it always seemed so completely unnecessary to be embarrassed.

"Just in case, I don't think what they're doing is wrong. I know a few gay people in Twilight Town too, and... yeah," Olette said.

Why the heck did she say that? It was completely unnecessary to say it. Did she want Kairi not to think badly or wrong of her? There really must be something wrong with her. But maybe she only wanted to get along with her. After all, if someone could get her home, it were those people here.

"I'm not sure, but I really think Tifa is bi. She had always been after Cloud, a childhood friend, and I think she was really in love with him. But Cloud is the most horrible human on a emotional scale you can imagine. It is always Sephiroth here and Sephiroth there, just to know, that is some immense powerful guy from his and Tifa's past. They even lived together, Cloud and Tifa that is, for a short period, but apparently Tifa didn't get him to open up in the slightest. Cloud is as cold and as blunt as a rock. Aerith once told me that Cloud had shown a bit interest in her, but she wasn't interested in him, and on top of that, she had always had a little thing for Tifa," Kairi explained while they were walking.

She didn't know if it was really okay to tell those two all that, but they would find out eventually.

"Kairi, hey, Kairi!" Olette waved her hand in front of her face.

Kairi, completely lost in thoughts had stopped walking and just gazed into thin air. Olette had just gotten her back into reality, and was now laughing at what for a air head Kairi could be. It was odd. While the awkward but yet warm feeling from earlier with Naminè was one thing, seeing Olette like that was completely different but yet similar.

"I just got a bit lost in thoughts," Kairi stammered and continued walking.

"So? What happened then?" Olette asked, even more curious than before. It seemed for her amazing that things worked out like that. Aerith was gay but Cloud seemed to like her, Aerith liked Tifa whom liked Cloud whom like Aerith. That was like one of these shows in T.V.

"Oh, right. Uhm, where did I left off?" Kairi asked.

"Aerith liked Tifa and Tifa was trying to get that Cloud guy to open up," Naminè threw in.

"So, one day, Tifa was simply over it. She couldn't bear Cloud's attitude anymore and left the apartment they lived together at. Having nowhere to go, she asked Aerith whom she was good friends with to live with her. That was a few weeks after Aerith kind of adopted to a role of my mother," Kairi said, a bit embarrassed. It really was weird, telling it to the girls like that.

"Well, you can surely think how things went after that. Aerith really has her charm, and I don't know when they started going out, but it only took a few weeks. They eventually told me about it a long time after I noticed and I had to laugh so hard. I've never seen Tifa embarrassed, you know, and she really was all shy and looking on the ground," Kairi was now laughing and still trying to tell the story to an end.

Olette had to hold in and barely managed not to laugh while imagining a embarrassed Tifa. It was so much of a weird thought, that she couldn't help it but laugh.

Naminè was the only one that just smiled at the thought. She didn't understand why it was so funny, but it really was a relief to see Kairi laughing free like that.

"Yeah, I just pretended to be shocked and all until I couldn't hold in anymore and started to laugh. Tifa really would have beaten me if not Aerith hadn't calmed her down. I then explained I already knew and I didn't think that they should make it a secret. If Cloud didn't care at all about Tifa all that time, he wouldn't either now. And Yuffie had been on the track of suggesting that Tifa should just hook up with Aerith for a long time." Kairi finished telling the story and stroked a tear from laughing from her eyes.

"That's one fascinating story, Kairi," Olette said and finally had managed to stop laughing.

"Do you have any interest in girls?" Naminè asked out of the blue.

"What did you just ask?" Kairi first stopped, thinking she had simply misheard what Naminè had said.

Olette was, completely against her will, extremely curious about that as well. If Kairi was not, Naminè would really have a hard time here. If so... yeah, what if so? Would Kairi just accept Naminè's feelings and all that? Somehow, that bugged her even more than the opposite.

"Do you like girls? I mean, like Aerith and Tifa do. With both your parents like that, don't they expect you to feel the same way?" Naminè repeated.

Kairi had never thought about it that way. Aerith and Tifa wouldn't expect her to be gay just because they were themselves. They would rather encourage her to follow whatever her heart would say. But what did it say? Kairi was, until recently, the only Keyblader they had ever found. She didn't have time to think about stuff like that. Did she like girls? Maybe. Did she not? Also maybe.

Olette wanted to remind Naminè how impolite it was to ask something like that, but the urge to know was much greater than that.

"I don't know. I... have never thought about stuff like that. I was too busy fighting against the Heartless, and I am still," Kairi stammered, getting a headache

Like before, there was the problem with her personality. She wanted to fulfill the expectations of her childhood friends, and if one of them liked her, they wouldn't be happy to find out that she either didn't like guys or had already a boyfriend or even a girlfriend.

"Then that's fine," Naminè said and smiled happily at Kairi.

If Kairi had never thought about it, there just had to be a reason to think about it. At least, that was what Naminè was thinking.

Olette was kind of amazed at Naminè. Although she didn't say it clearly, Naminè had obviously a thing for Kairi. Everyone that wasn't completely blind must have noticed it. And Kairi must be pretending not to notice.

--Valiant Hearts--

"I don't like it when you go so easy on her," Tifa said, sitting on a stair not so far away from Merlin's house.

Aerith was sitting right behind her, both arms laid around the other woman and playing with Tifa's hair.

It was a bit cold out, but they didn't feel it like that at all. Tifa was still angry at Kairi, but when it came to Aerith, her resistance melted away like snow in the sun.

The sun had sunk, and it was dark in the streets. Nobody could see them. There was no lantern nearby.

"You don't have to be so hard to her. She has a lot of problems, and that those two girls appeared doesn't make it easier for her. Say, did you use my shampoo again? Your hair smells different than usual, and that's not your shampoo," Aerith knew that going on with that topic would only worsen Tifa's mood.

"No, I know you hate it when I do that," Tifa now grinned and learned back, in Aerith's lap. She could see the starry sky, but more importantly, beneath that, the face of her lover in the darkness.

"So you do learn," Aerith grinned back and laid one hand at Tifa's cheek. In all that confusion the last few days, they had been too exhausted and too busy to even share the nights. She really appreciated this moment.

"Well, I did use your new perfume the other day," Tifa said, and could immediately feel how something was pricking her cheek.

"Ahh, I was kidding, I was kidding, really hon," Tifa said while holding her cheek. Aerith was really, really particular about her stuff.

It was silent a moment, before Tifa reached out with her arms, knowing exactly how far she had to go, and after a moment, she had laid both arms around the neck of the other woman, trying to pull her down.

Aerith mumbled something and then gave in to the demand of her lover. She went down, closing her eyes and a bit bending over, and just blew a bit air on Tifa's cheek before she could feel the lips of her belovedone on her own.

Tifa really was a passionate kisser, and Aerith really liked that. She could feel Tifa's hot breath on her skin, and for once opened up first, her tongue finding her way into her mouth at once, playing the play they both loved. Tifa had loosened her grip, was now playing with Aerith hair, and could feel how the woman was lovingly fondling her sides.

Aerith had laid a darkness spell around them, so nobody could see them, not even if they walked right next to them.

When Aerith finally broke free from the kiss, both of them were breathing quite fast. Aerith fixed her hair, and Tifa had to smile. Although she couldn't see in the darkness, she knew what Aerith was doing. She would had liked to continue right here and now, but there was that annoying meeting they had to complete. At least, tonight, they would have time all for their selves.

--Valiant Hearts--

When everyone had finally come back to Merlin's house, it was already pitch black out. Leon was so annoyed that he just wanted to summarize what they knew up to know and decide what to do from now on.

"So, what do we know about Olette and Naminè. Olette is from Twilight Town, a relatively peaceful world that was somehow not attacked by Heartless. She is able to materialize two Keyblades, and from what Merlin told me earlier, completely unable to use magic, and even unable to learn them. We assume the world she is from is either an artificial one or a duplicate of a real world, but we don't know details. We will try to find a way back to her world, but if we fail, she has little choice but to stay here. I doubt that now, that she is fully aware of the Keyblade, the Heartless will remain from ravaging her world either" Leon said in a awful speed, to prevent anyone interrupting.

"Is that correct and does anyone have complaints?" he asked with a stinging gaze.

Olette just nodded. There wasn't much beside that they could do

Nobody had any complaints or wanted to add something.

"The first thing Naminè remembers is being at the World That Never Was, the headquarters of the Nobodies, the Organization XIII, and we know little of her. For now, she is able to wield a Keyblade, to make it worse, one that she got from Kairi. She meet Kairi during our raid on the Organization somewhere we don't know or have any data on it. She then showed up when Kairi, Aerith and Yuffie were on the exploratory mission in Twilight Town, here in Hollow Bastion, knowing a awful lot about us from a somewhat strange connection with Kairi and her dreams. For now, it is Aerith that is responsible to train her. We can't send her back anywhere; we don't even know where she is from. The major point is that she doesn't seem to go anywhere unless Kairi goes. Anyone have complaints or something to add?" Leon said and was about to change colors. He skipped even taking a break in that long explanation and wouldn't have be able to go much further.

"I want to stay with Kairi, that's all," Naminè said and looked right next to her at Kairi that looked a bit embarrassed at that comment.

"But what do you mean with train?" Naminè asked.

"Aerith will explain that later to you."

Leon then took a deep breath, so deep that he immediately coughed and earned grins from everyone.

"Last and with that we finish this damn meeting, what do we do now? I would appreciate if Tifa would train Olette for the time being. No matter if she has to stay or can go back home in a while, she will have to make use of her ability to use two Keyblades. And I'm sure for that much that she will be fighting Heartless if she goes back to her world. Regarding the Organization, we don't know their true goal yet. Merlin is already on his way to Castle Disney, where he will consult the King, to trade information. You all know that we're not the only ones that are up against the Heartless. But Castle Disney is very far away, so we are responsible for the worlds around here. Kairi, after a few days rest, I would like you to travel to a nearby World and look for clues on the Organization. That's all," Leon finished and walked off as fast as he could without making it look like he was escaping.

He was tired and annoyed beyond any regular amount.

Yuffie left, knowing that in the next few days, there would be more exploratory jobs than usual for her. Cid followed shortly after. He had to continue early tomorrow his research and decoding on the data he had gotten from the Organization the other day.

Tifa left, followed by Aerith who stopped just before she left the room.

"Kairi, Olette and Naminè, I think this was enough for today. We all haven't eaten yet, so I'll make something."

Kairi whispered to the other girls so that Aerith couldn't hear it.

"Tifa is a terrible cook. All her stuff is awful spicy. But Aerith really likes it."

The girls giggled and earned a scolding look from Aerith.

"I expect you to be there in at worst twenty minutes," Aerith said and left.

That was plenty of time to walk over to their house.

"I don't feel like getting in anymore trouble for today," Kairi said and stoond up.

The room was awful empty, now that everyone had left. But this had been a long day.

"I don't either. Aerith seems to be really easygoing though. I'd be happy if my mother would be like that. I don't think Tifa is a bad person either, but her temper seems to be really bad," Olette said and walked to the door.

"I think Tifa is just worried about Kairi. Aerith seems to really like her. She wouldn't if Tifa was a bad person I think," Naminè said and immediately clung to Kairi, holding onto her arm.

Olette couldn't stand it. Annoyed about herself, she left and waited outside for Kairi.

"Naminè... can you... stop this?" Kairi asked and looked outside the window.

It was one thing that Naminè had clung to her today. Maybe she did it because she really had longed for her, for whatever reason. But this was already plenty of nearness. Kairi didn't have the time nor the experience to deal with something like this.

Surprisingly, Naminè didn't seem to be really offended. Her expression was a bit of being disappointed, but she didn't seem to be angry with Kairi.

Outside, Olette was spying on them, with a really bad remorse. She usually didn't mingle in other peoples business, but she was rather curious what they were talking about.

Olette showed a really evil grin when Kairi said something, she just couldn't understand it from there, and Naminè just nodded and let her go. It wasn't really nice to show that much mischievousness, and deep inside she felt a little bit bad for Naminè.

However, Kairi was about to go outside, and Olette left her spot and leaned against the wall next to the door.

"Didn't you leave already?" Kairi asked when she saw Olette outside right next to the door.

"This town isn't small. I have no idea where your house was," Olette said and although it was a excuse, it was completely true.

They didn't say anything and just walked next to each other towards the house.

Olette was surprised, but Naminè had indeed stopped clinging to Kairi, even though she still gazed at her. It was rather obvious that the blond girl definitely liked Kairi. But it seemed to be a one-sided thing.

Kairi could hardly focus her thoughts. Those two would soon comprehend that this was no simple game. That there was no escape from this. But it wasn't her place to say those things, nor was it anyone else's. They had to understand it by themselves.

But it was also nice. It had only occurred as minor matter to Kairi at first, but this series of events meant above all that she was not the only Keyblader anymore. There was Naminè, whom had apparently a huge magical potential, and Olette, whom managed the astonishing feat of maintaining two Keyblades at once as if it was a simple matter.

The only problem was that they had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

End of Chapter VII

Author Note: I had some... major.. issues with formatting,which almost drove me insane. So, if there are any formatting errors, missing paragraph breaks, I ask you to ignore it ( or send me a PM with the error ) and bear with it. It was one hell to replace every enter(regular paragraph break) with a manual line break.


	8. What I can do

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter VIII

What I can do

"You're not bad, and although I can't comment on your sword technique, I can see that you have great potential. But you still lack power. And accuracy. And speed. And-" Tifa was cut off.

"Yeah, I know it already, I know it. You've been telling me this for four days now," Olette murmured and sat down on the ground.

Tifa had sent her through hell and worse, and she could barely move every evening. If Kairi had somehow endured this, she really was something else. On top of that, there was no significant improvement. Tifa kept her telling that results don't come over night, but this was definitely overdoing things. How strong could those Heartless things and the Organization possibly be?

Tifa's training consisted of four different lessons. First off, power training, second was stamina, third speed and reflexes, and last was a sparing against Tifa herself. Although she was not new to hard training, this was quite over the edge. The power training was just plain stupid. Olette had to undergo several hundred practice movements with her Keyblades, and they got really heavy after just a few moves. That alone brought her almost to her limits. The stamina training was even worse. But it was the only thing she improved almost daily, and that was the only thing that kept her going. Olette had to make an almost unlimited number of practice movements until Tifa was satisfied. The speed training on the other hand was not quite as hard. She was already quite fast, but not even close to Tifa's level. That particular training consisted of two different parts. One was just plain movement speed. She had to keep up to her best with Tifa while they ran a training course that went almost across the whole of Hollow Bastion. But even Tifa had her limits. The second part was defensive. Olette had to block super-speed hits from Tifa. It was crazy how fast that woman could move. She didn't hit her hard, but it was hard to sense from which direction she would strike next.

"We will skip the sparring part today. You improved quite a bit in just three days. You're faster, and I guess in a few more days, we will see the first results in power. You can feel the increase in Stamina yourself. You will make a great fighter one day. I think I need to start training again if I don't want to be surpassed by you," Tifa laughed and stretched out a hand to Olette.

"You're just flattering me, aren't you?" Olette murmured and took her hand regardless.

Even though the training was really hard, and most of her muscles were burning, it felt good to get praised like that. Tifa was not the best mentor, and she knew absolutely nothing about sword techniques. But when Olette had asked Kairi about that, she said that technique was something one had to figure out for themselves. Nevertheless, Olette really started to get along with Tifa.

"I'm going to check on Aerith," Tifa said and left immediately.

Olette remembered a accident two days ago, when Naminè tried to cast a Firega and accidentally almost turned Tifa into roast beef.

"Don't get yourself burned," she called out and walked over to a bench. De-materializing and summoning the Keyblades was not much work anymore. Once she figured out how it worked, it was more of a routine. Kairi was able to summon them on the blink of a eye, but she still needed to concentrate a moment.

Olette looked in the sky and wondered what she was doing. They still hadn't found a way to get her back to Twilight Town. The portal near the maw led into nothingness. The portal to her world had vanished without a trace. And the path was loaded with those black creatures. She had first refused to participate in this ridiculous exhausting training, but she had nothing else to do. When she would get back to Twilight Town, she would be stronger than anyone else there. Winning the struggle tournament she had left in the middle of it would be easy.

"Hayner... Pence..."

--Valiant Hearts--

Naminè didn't have a easier time than Olette. While Olette was everyday complaining about how her whole body was aching, Naminè was mentally so exhausted that she could barely concentrate on anything. Magical training was usually much theory, but Naminè had proven to be completely incapable of understanding the complex theory and Aerith had no choice but to teach her via learning-by-doing, which lead often to severe destruction of the surrounding things. That was the reason they were practicing near the maw.

It was much harder to master a spell than simply improve one's physical ability. Although she understood the basics, Naminè had only managed to cast the basic versions of Ice and Lightning, as well as Cure. Anything above that had proven to be significantly harder. Although Aerith was specialized in defensive magic, she tried to teach Naminè also the offensive branch.

"Try to close your eyes, concentrate on the force you can form with your mind, imagine the form the spell should take, and shape the magic energy into the form you desire. This time, try a Icera spell. Icera is the second level spell of the Ice branch, like the name implies. My Icera is a storm of ice crystals, but yours will most likely look different," Aerith explained.

She had to protect herself with a Reflecga spell; although Naminè had no technique, her raw magical energy was many times greater than Kairi's. It wasn't close to what she was capable of, and it wasn't enough to even attempt summons, but it would suffice for the third class spells and in the future eventually above those.

Naminè concentrated and tried to imagine how the spell would take form. Shaping magical energy in one's own mind was a very tiring process and they were at it for hours. She had improved on the Cura spell as well as mastered the basic form of Reflect. But she had severe problems with anything that surpassed the level one grade.

Naminè could use Monochrome as magical amplifier, and it was also a bit easier to actually succeed in casting when she used it. Aerith didn't know how it worked, and even Kairi did casting magic entirely different from how Naminè did.

Kairi was not able to use recited spells, but Naminè was. It was a optional part to increase the power behind whatever magic one was casting.

"An eternity of waiting, forever stare, an infinity of time, frozen crystal!" Naminè called out and directed Monochrome towards a set of rocks.

First nothing seemed to happen and after Aerith wanted to tell her to try again, a cold wind gave her goosebumps. Around the rocks was slowly building a massive ice crystal, completely wrapping the rocks in them.

It was a impressive crystal. But that was hardly a usable spell in combat. And that was the sole purpose of this training.

"You're really improved. But I need to say that this won't do, dear. The crystal took so long to build up that every Heartless would have escaped by then. If you need any advice, I suggest a defensive version, close to what you just did. Instead of making it a crystal, try a wall, and directly in front of you, not further away. It would make a magnificent defense spell to block anything that's rushing straight at you," Aerith said but was kind of proud. Kairi had taken a long time to get to the level she was at. Any further improvement was impossible for her. She had reached her limits.

Naminè had already a slight headache but gave the woman a nod.

The same procedure, but a different reciting.

"Prison of unbreakable cold, keep of snow, protect me!"

The reaction was devastating. In a circle of three foot around Naminè materialized a massive ice wall, completely surrounding and imprisoning her. Aerith had to smile as she saw Naminè's puzzled expression.

"People of the flames, dance!" Aerith recited and downright blasted one side of the ice wall with a fira spell.

Naminè smiled a bit embarrassed and walked over to where Aerith was standing.

"Can we stop for today? My head is hurting really bad," Naminè asked.

At the same time, Tifa came by and didn't dare to come closer than about fifty foot. She still had the accident from the other day in bad memory. If her lover hadn't be so fast and protected her with a Reflecga spell, she would have suffered severe burns.

Aerith smiled at her and waved her over, signalizing that they were done for today.

"Sure dear. I think Olette and Kairi are quite exhausted too. Why don't you go and see them?"

Naminè was rubbing her forehead when she passed Tifa, who gave her a "Good work" and then captured Aerith for a kiss.

"You're acting like we just got together. What's the occasion?" Aerith teased but didn't make any effort to break free from Tifa.

"It's been a few days since Olette and Naminè arrived and they're already that used to living here. It's nice to have them in the house. Kairi is much more energetic than usual. Makes me happy. And you too, doesn't it?" Tifa replied and laid both arms around her lover's waist, drawing her even closer.

"You're right, but don't forget that at least Olette is still looking for a way home," Aerith said and laid her hands on Tifa's neck.

"I feel somewhat bad about it, but when I see how Kairi is opening up to them, I don't feel like having one of them go back to their own world. And there is also the issue with the Heartless. And leave alone the Heartless, the Organization... did you cut your hair?" Tifa suddenly changed the topic and looked a bit closer at Aerith's face.

"That was Naminè," Aerith said a bit embarrassed and tried to hide her sloppy cut hair.

"You're so cute when you get embarrassed, Aerith-pon," Tifa said and started giggling.

"Don't call me that," Aerith said, now even blushing.

It had been ages since Tifa called her that, and when she remembered when she did, it made her blush like a ripe tomato.

"How about I cook today? I'll make some curry," Tifa changed the topic again.

Although Aerith loved Tifa's food, it was kind of inedible for the girls. And Tifa knew that.

"Kairi will complain again. And I guess Olette too," Aerith smiled and leaned her forehead against Tifa's.

It really felt like their little family had just grown a bit. But that was only a temporary feeling of happiness. The Organization was still out there and the Heartless too.

"They'll bear with it. I'll make it a bit less spicy. I don't know what they have against my food, though. They're just spoiled by your cooking," Tifa teased again.

"It's okay if you understand," Aerith replied and gave her lover a deep kiss.

"Shall we go?" Tifa asked and knew the answer long before hand.

"Let's just stay like this for a while," Aerith replied and the next kiss followed.

--Valiant Hearts--

"I feel like I want to die," Olette moaned and laid on the couch in the living room. Naminè had been the first to be back, and therefore the first to get to shower. Though, Olette was sure that at least once the past few days, Naminè had offered Kairi to shower with her.

It made her blush every time when Kairi walked out of the shower wrapped in just a big towel. Naminè was cute too, but Olette was too busy with being annoyed at her constant flirting with Kairi. If she liked her, she should just say so! Olette would!

"I'm not tired enough if I am still thinking about stuff like that," she continued to moan and closed her eyes and laid back.

Someone opened the door; it was most likely Tifa or Aerith. She was too tired to even say anything to them and just remained where she was, leaned on the back of the couch with closed eyes.

Where was Kairi? She hadn't seen her since this morning. Aerith and Tifa were busy with training Naminè and herself, but Kairi seemed to have her own training too. Either she did it by herself or one of the other people, maybe Leon, taught her.

Something was touching her legs, but Olette was too tired to be bothered by that. Not until something then tickled her nose, Olette simply refused to open her eyes, drowsing on the couch. But what she saw when she finally opened her eyes was simply beyond any explanation.

Kairi was leaned halfway over Olette, her hair hanging in Olette's face as she apparently tried to do something behind her. Olette had a prime view directly at Kairi's chest. She must have been doing some very tiring training, because she was basically soaked in sweat. It didn't bother Olette in the slightest. In just seconds, her face had taken a deeper red than ever.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" Olette stammered, trying not to stare too obviously at Kairi's chest.

That was hardly possible, because only inches separated the two girls.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were sleeping and I tried to open a window. You looked so peaceful and cute that I tried to open it without waking you up," Kairi explained and finally managed to open the window.

Fresh cold air streamed inside and the redhead sat down right next to Olette.

Cute? She looked what? It was almost as if Kairi was teasing her on purpose.

"Your whole face is red. Did you eat some of Tifa's lunch?" Kairi asked, completely out in the blue why Olette was blushing.

"Yeah. Yeah, I accidentally ate some of it. My whole face is burning from it," Olette made up an excuse.

She still refused to believe that she was attracted to Kairi. The past few days had been full of situation like these, and Olette couldn't help herself but believe that she at least was a little bit interested in girls in general.

It was even weirder that Kairi obviously refused to react in any matter to Naminè's flirting. Either she was not interested and didn't want to hurt Naminè, or she was and was just shy. Olette was about to get a headache. This was just one of the many times since she had arrived at Hollow Bastion that she was thinking about stuff like that. It was none of her business.

"Naminè in the shower?" Kairi asked and seemed to be just as tired as Olette.

Olette just nodded and immediately saw a image of seconds before in her head. Everyone would have blushed in that situation. That was completely normal. And Kairi really was attractive. Not only had she a good figure but also her chest-

"I need a breath of fresh air," Olette said and left the room.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kairi wondered and leaned back.

How long was Naminè already in the shower? Her clothes basically were like glued to her body. She wanted to change as soon as possible. Kairi was amazed that she could still move after that hell ride of training. Since Tifa was busy with Olette, she had to ask Leon. And he seemed to forget that Kairi didn't have physical power like Tifa. They had practiced over six hours, that since three days in a row now. Her technique had improved a bit, but she was still far away from being even close to being on par with Leon.

Kairi knew that Naminè liked her. It was rather obvious after all what happened. Just the day after they had started training, Naminè had offered to share the shower. Even Tifa and Aerith did that very seldom. And they were a really close couple. Kairi had no idea why Naminè was so fixated to her. Olette didn't seem to care at all, beside being a bit annoyed.

"What should I do... I don't really want to think about it..." Kairi sighed and leaned back.

She had never expected that this would happen. Sure, at some point the Heartless would be beaten, the Organization would by a thing of the past, and if she survived all that, she could look for some romance. But right now, Kairi wasn't even able to figure out what she liked or not.

"Ahhh, why must things be so complicated?" Kairi moaned and stand up.

Naminè wouldn't shower forever, and Olette didn't seem to come back. She would take the shower. But it was weird that Aerith and Tifa, although both of the girls were already here, were still out.

Kairi left for her room and could feel her muscles aching with every step on the stairs. She understood why she had to undergo some training, but this was ridiculous. Whatever Leon said, Kairi would take tomorrow off. Maybe she would go to the observation deck and just relax her tired body.

"Hi Kairi," Naminè had just come out of the bathroom, wearing one of Kairi's shirts and a skirt.

She had little choice but to wear some of Kairi's clothes. Aerith however had promised that once they got some money, they would buy her some clothes.

"How was training?" Kairi asked casually and went in her room to grab a towel.

"Please don't ask me," Naminè said and rubbed her forehead. The headache didn't go away after the shower. That was the big disadvantage with magic. The after effects of training took a while to wear off.

"I'm going to shower," Kairi said and waited for Naminè to move out of the way.

"Do I look good in this?" Naminè asked and picked on the skirt. It was quite different from what she wore usually but it didn't look bad.

"I... think so. Why don't you ask Olette? If she is still taking a breath of fresh air, get her inside, she will get sick," Kairi said and vanished in the bathroom.

It was almost as if she was escaping and avoiding Naminè. But what should she do? Refuse her? Just try and find out if she really liked girls? Both of those didn't seem like they would end well. For now, she decided to just try to postpone any decision.

Kairi undressed herself and went into the shower. The water felt like a nice blessing on her skin and her tense muscles. Naminè didn't look so well and for the energetic Olette to be that tired, they were all pretty worn out. Maybe it would them do good to skip together tomorrow.

Naminè would follow her anyway if she told her, but Olette didn't look like she was eager to go. She tried to avoid both of them together as much as possible.

The hot water cleared her mind a bit. She knew just too well that she was being indecisive with Naminè. But how could she not? She had appeared out of nowhere, behaving like that. If she indeed would go out with Naminè, leaving the matter of liking girls or not alone, what would Aerith and Tifa say? The others? Olette? They would know that Kairi was just pretending.

Her thoughts went empty at that time. It was no use thinking about it like that. Things had worked out for Aerith and Tifa, and hopefully they would also work out for her.

"I forgot to bring my shampoo. And Aerith will roast me if I use hers..." Kairi sighed.

And to make things worse, Tifa's shampoo was empty. Wrapping herself in her towel, Kairi unlocked the door and wanted to walk fast into her room and back, without being seen. The first thing she saw was Olette that was just passing by and looked quite surprised at a still wet Kairi.

"I forgot my shampoo. Can you get it for me? It's in my room, on the drawer next to the locker," Kairi asked, and after Olette nodded, halfway unconscious, Kairi closed the door and waited impatiently for Olette to knock.

Olette was just too tired to be amazed anymore. Either Kairi did this all on purpose, and if so, that was the most subtle flirting she had ever seen, or it was a mere coincidence and heaven itself was playing a prank at her.

The shampoo was where Kairi said. Olette grabbed it and went back to the bath, knocking one time and talking to Kairi.

"I got your shampoo. I'll need a shower too, but you can take your time. Aerith came just back and told me that Tifa is cooking today," Olette said, and remembered the food that Tifa cooked. She had cooked some downright inedible spicy rice after their first day of training.

The door opened a bit and Olette handed over the bottle.

"Yuffie is living alone, we can check by there later, she has always some food to share. That is, if we survive Tifa's food today," Kairi said, grabbing the bottle and heading back into the shower.

Olette left for her room, where Naminè was laying on her bed, seemingly asleep and one hand laid on her forehead. Olette still couldn't get the image from earlier out of her head. What was worse, the more she tried to forget it, the more clearly she could see it.

Olette climbed on her bed, her body aching all over. When she remembered that she had to get up to take a shower, the shower didn't look so promising anymore.

"Olette, why do you get always mad when I'm close to Kairi?" Naminè asked out of nowhere.

Hadn't she been asleep? Or did Olette wake her up? However, Olette didn't answer and tried to pretend to be asleep.

"I really like Kairi, but I want to get along with you too," Naminè said further.

"Get along with me too, huh," Olette whispered to herself and rolled over. That wasn't getting along, that was clearly having fallen for another girl. Naminè didn't seem to even understand that her affection for Kairi was clearly different from what she felt for everyone else she liked.

"Do you dislike Kairi or me?"

Olette couldn't answer.

Naminè went up and sat on the edge of her bed. Kairi was very special to her. She really liked Olette too, and Aerith and Tifa, but they were all different from Kairi. Then Kairi was her one special person. Naminè would follow her everywhere, no matter where to.

And although Naminè knew exactly that Olette was awake, if she refused to answer, there was no sense to talk to her for now. She always refused to answer when she asked her about Kairi.

Naminè left the room and with that Olette alone with her thoughts. The blond girl went downstairs and just got a glimpse of what appeared to be Tifa and Aerith throwing onions at each other while laughing.

"Look what you did! The kitchen looks like you detonated a Firega spell!" Tifa got out between laughing and evading the onions.

"And who started the whole misery?!" Aerith called back and also laughed.

"I don't even know anymore, but if we do this much further, we will be busy the whole evening with cleaning," Tifa said and they immediately stopped. Although Aerith didn't mind cleaning, cleaning the kitchen was always the worst job of all.

"You seem to have fun," Naminè said and giggled at the two grown women and sat down in the couch.

"We were testing the flight ability of the onions. They need to be light for my curry," Tifa said and was blushing like a ripe tomato.

"Are Kairi and Olette done with showering?" Aerith asked, not less deep blushing.

"Hm, no. Kairi is still showering, Olette in our room," Naminè said, making no effort to hide that she was rather amused by the previous scene.

"Naminè dear, can you do me a favor?" Aerith asked.

"Yes. But no more training, my head still hurts," Naminè said.

"Don't worry. It won't be any mental exhausting. I will only have you to go over to Yuffie's place, to ask her for some tabasco. Ours somehow vanished, but I suspect Kairi on that," Aerith said and couldn't refrain from smiling on the thought that Kairi often stole the tabasco to prevent Tifa from cooking.

"That's okay. I'll be right back," Naminè said and left.

The room was silent for a moment. Something made the air tense, as if as thunderstorm inside was brewing.

"Don't you think that it's dangerous to leave things as they are? Kairi might be over strained by this. I'm sure Naminè has no idea what pressure she is putting on her," Tifa said and went back to slicing the onions into small cubes.

"I'm sure Kairi will do the right thing. If we meddle into this, she will never get past this step," Aerith replied.

"I hope you're right honey. I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

"You start to sound like a certain someone."

"If you now say I sound like Leon, you're going to sleep on the couch tonight, Aerith."

--Valiant Hearts--

"Why have I to be like this?"

Olette was still laying on her bed, looking in the night sky.

It wasn't the best of all feelings to be like this. She was jealous of Naminè, simply because she was so carefree. She was supposed to be worried sick about her hometown, her friends, and yet, hadn't spend much thought at all the past two days.

"Just what the heck is wrong with me?" Olette swore and hid herself under the blanket.

--Valiant Hearts--

Kairi was almost afraid to leave the shower. What if Naminè was there? Every time she saw her, her naive and innocent face, it was as if that very face was demanding a response to her feelings. But Kairi couldn't. There was no telling when the Heartless would strike again. She had to get rid of these thoughts.

Maybe Kairi could ask Olette what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to have had a normal life so far. She would know.

Yes, that was a good idea. Still drying her hair, Kairi left the bathroom and headed over to the room that Naminè and Olette were using as bedroom. Knocking once at the door, something on the upper bed moved appalled, and seconds later, Olette was looking a bit disturbed from above at her.

"Uhm... the... shower is free" Kairi said and could have immediately banged her head against the door frame. "And... I need to talk to you," she said, with a much more serious face.

What could Kairi want? Was it about earlier? Had she noticed after all that Olette had been staring at her chest, being halfway forced or not?

"What you wanna talk about?" Olette started and jumped down from her bed.

"I'll just come straight to the point. I'll end up just talking nonsense the other way," Kairi sighed and took a very deep breath.

Olette was about to faint, so tense she was. What in hell's name was up with Kairi? She had not been looking so serious since she had formally reported to Leon what had happened at the mansion.

"What should I do about Naminè? It is so obvious that she likes me but..." Kairi turned around, almost as if looking out that Naminè was not around, "what should I do? I just can't agree to that and act like I like her out of the blue. But unless I tell her straight out that I can't, she won't understand, I guess. But how I am supposed to tell this girl that I can't respond to her feelings?" Kairi looked behind her again and walked over to the cupboard, taking a seat on it.

Olette could feel a with every second bigger getting lump in her throat. Why didn't Kairi ask Aerith or Tifa? Why her? Why? Just why her out of all people available? How was Olette supposed to answer that, struggling with her own problems like that. But she couldn't just remain silent. She had to say something. Something. Anything. Anything at all was okay. As long as she didn't make a even longer silent break as she already did.

"Are you surprised? You're so quiet, I thought you already noticed that-" Kairi was cut off.

"No, I know, I know. It's obvious. And I think you should just tell her that you can't like her now. For now, that is. You need time. Tell her you will start out as friends," Olette said.

Just what in heaven's name was she blurting out? Had she gone completely retarded? "Start out as friends" the hell! Kairi would in the best case laugh at her and ask Aerith. In the worst, she would think really badly of her now. Why didn't she say something else? Anything would have been fine. But now it was out.

"I mean-" Olette started to try to clean up her mess.

"I think that might just work. But... I don't feel so good about it. Can you help me out and play along with this "be just friends" thing? Please? I would be much easier for me," Kairi said and looked with those for help looking eyes at Olette, one cannot withstand.

"Sure. No problem. I'll be happy to be your friend," Olette replied without even thinking once about her reply.

"You're really nice, thank you," Kairi said, jumped from the cupboard, went past Olette out of the room and left a whisper of "That's really nice of you" in Olette's ear.

The heart of the brunette was jumping like a rubber ball in a glass bottle. How much worse could it possibly get?

"Yeah, I'll be happy to be your friend, my ass!!" Olette swore, kicked against the door frame, hurt her foot, grabbed her towel, went inside the bathroom and closed the door hard enough to make a sound echo through the whole house.

--Valiant Hearts--

Yuffie was searching through a mess that could, on a barely human standard, be called a former kitchen. The whole apartment looked like a couple chaos bombs had been blown up inside and no one was around to clean for about a eternity.

Naminè had somehow found a clean place to sit while Yuffie was searching for the tabasco she had put somewhere. According to her, it was only a matter of seconds to find it. A matter of about a few seconds that already took about ten minutes.

"So, how are things going?" Yuffie asked and threw something indescribable away.

"My head hurts the whole time." Naminè was remembering today's magic training with Aerith and holding her forehead. Her head was still aching.

"Yeah, she is sometimes a bit hard to understand," Yuffie said with a giggle.

"It is just really exhausting," Naminè replied.

"So, did you confess already?" Yuffie asked but didn't stop rampaging through her apartment.

"What do you mean?"

Naminè was now a bit thrown off. What should she have confessed?

"Did you confess to Kairi?" Yuffie said, now having stopped and looking at Naminè.

"What should I confess?" Naminè asked with a completely innocent smile.

"Oh, never mind then," Yuffie said and got back to her never ending search for the tabasco.

Yuffie occasionally threw a few things across the room and finally found the tabasco in a drawer behind a pile of old dishes.

"Kairi is a bit... I dunno. I never really understood her. She had it really hard though. Never had much time to befriend anyone, all the time looking for a way to rescue her friends. You and Olette are the first ones to have that sort of relationship with her, I guess," Yuffie said with a enormous grin and petted Naminè's head.

"You guess?" Naminè looked quite puzzled.

"Yup. Now go, before Tifa kicks down my door, because she thinks I'd want to keep you all for myself."

"Why would you do that?" Naminè asked and was almost startled with Yuffie leaned towards her and was awfully close.

"Because I like cute innocent girls like you," Yuffie said with a truly evil grin.

"You do?" Naminè was quite surprised.

"Nah. I just need someone to clean this place once in a while. I'm completely useless when it comes to cleaning," Yuffie's grin got even bigger, as if she was proud of being unable to maintain a clean household.

"I don't really know how to clean either," Naminè replied, and Yuffie started to laugh, Naminè to giggle.

Naminè then left, heading back to the house the girl she loved was living. She would definitely make it. It had been this way ever since she had seen Kairi in the top floor of the castle. It was different from simple affection. It was way beyond that. Something that connected her with Kairi. Something uncut able. But what did Yuffie mean with "confess"?

--Valiant Hearts--

"What the hell am I doing?" Olette was still upset, even after taking a shower. But what should she have done in that kind of situation? Just blurt out that she thinks she may be into girls and possibly interested to some point in her? Kairi would have avoided her just like she did with Naminè.

"At least, this way I'll be able to find out if I like her or not," Olette sighted in resignation.

Today must been her most unlucky day in all history, with exception for the day time stopped in Twilight Town and this whole dilemma started.

There was a really biting smell that almost knocked her out when Olette opened the door. It was almost strong enough to pass as dangerous acid gas.

That could only mean one thing. It was time to eat.

"And I thought the day couldn't get any worse," Olette sighed.

--Valiant Hearts--

Kairi was laying in her bed, rolling over in pain, and holding her stomach.

Tifa's cooking was like poison for her, but going to bed with a empty stomach was even worse. It didn't seem like Olette or Naminè took the food particularly good either. They both had looked like glowing tomatos after the meal.

"I still wonder how Aerith can like this inhuman spicy stuff," Kairi muttered and got up. There was no way she could sleep while her stomach was aching like that.

Kairi would always sit on the rooftop of the house and watch the stars in the night when she couldn't sleep. It was quite warm tonight, so Kairi was going up, just with her super long shirt that she wore to sleep.

But someone had already taken her place. Olette was laying on her back and seemed to watch the stars. Right next to her sat Naminè, gazing on the dark horizon, as if something was there only she could see.

Kairi chose not to disturb those two when Naminè started to talk. It was really poor manners, but Kairi couldn't resist eavesdropping. For whatever reason, Kairi wanted to know what they would talk about with her not around. Although they slept in the same room, they didn't seem to talk much to each other.

"Say Olette. Why-" Naminè said and a little bit furious, Olette went up, looked quite angry and finally snapped.

"Stop asking already. It's... I don't know! I want to know too. Why the heck am I so uncomfortable with you around Kairi. I wouldn't sit there and be annoyed if I knew," Olette basically shouted and then went up, walking a bit further up the roof and laying down there.

"Don't you like Kairi?" Naminè then asked, now gazing at Olette, instead of the horizon.

Kairi was more than just tense. She had notice that Olette behaved a bit odd when Naminè had been clung to her and several other times Olette had been annoyed for no reason. And they were talking about this, about her, right now.

"What do you mean 'like', Naminè? Like, like you do? Or like as girl? Like as friend? I guess if I have to say one of them, I'll go with the last. I only meet her a few days back, and although we're all here, playing happy family, I still don't belong here. I belong to my own home, Twilight Town. I have my own friends, my own family there. It's completely different to you!" Olette continued her rant and was mad at both Naminè and herself.

Why was she taking it out on her? Naminè wasn't really the reason Olette was now here. Nor was it her fault that Olette couldn't go back. It was stupid to yell at her for no reason, but it really made Olette feel better.

Naminè remained silent for a while, and both, Olette and Kairi, were thinking the same thing. Olette should apologize for yelling at her.

"Naminè, I'm... sorry for yelling. It's not really your fault. I'm totally confused. I just want to go back to my normal life. A peaceful life. I-" Olette was cut off.

"I only had one friend before I came here. And I don't know where he is now. Kairi is special to me. But you are too. Aerith and Tifa too," Naminè said and went back to gazing at the horizon.

"Ah... yeah. Thanks... I guess," Olette said after a while, a bit embarrassed.

Kairi was somewhat relieved. At least, it seemed like they would be able to get along. Kairi had completely forgotten about her stomach ache. It had been the reason she wanted to come up her in the first place. But it didn't seem like it was necessary now.

Kairi got back in her room, and was thinking for a moment, that it would have been nice if those two could get always get along. Of course, Kairi had her own issues, but it was a bit different with Naminè and Olette. They were also Keybladers. It wouldn't put them in any more danger if she were friends with them.

--Valiant Hearts--

"Won't Tifa and Aerith get mad when we just skip training like this?" Olette asked but still followed Kairi the way up to the observation deck.

"They get mad at me all the time for this. They even ground me sometimes. But in the end, they always forgive me," Kairi said and looked behind her, at the other two.

Kairi waited for a moment, Naminè was a bit behind, and Olette stopped right next to her. She had offered to piggyback Naminè the way up, but Naminè declined and wanted to climb up by herself.

"I'm counting on you. I think today is a good day to... tell her," Kairi whispered to Olette.

Olette knew that this day would come. She had, in the heat of the moment, agreed to help Kairi out.

The whole idea was a bit retarded, and if Naminè had not been so naive, it wouldn't work at all. Olette wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but now backing out was no option.

It took them a while, though less than the first time, to get up to the platform, and it was still forenoon. The sun was still rising, and the air was warm and fresh up there. It was a little paradise, their little private paradise. Kairi went over to lean over the handrail and took a deep breath fresh air. This far up, the air was more clean than below.

"I feel like in heaven," Olette moaned and stretched out, laying on a bench.

The sun was shining through the glass, and although it was so far up, it was not blinding. The warm light really made this feel like a paradise.

Naminè was standing next to Kairi and instead of acting like usual, and trying to cling to Kairi, she imitated her.

--Valiant Hearts--

"I think you should give her some free space. I don't really know Kairi, but I think you're sticking a bit too close to her," Olette said, despite the nagging voice in her head.

"What do you mean, free space?" Naminè asked.

Now that got Naminè's interest. If it was about Kairi, it really was easy to get her to listen.

"How do I put it that you understand it? Even when you're together with Kairi, don't cling so close to her. Think of her as a friend," Olette explained.

She didn't believe that Naminè got what she meant, but it was worth a try. If Naminè understood, Kairi would have some free time to order her thoughts. And Olette too. To be witness to Naminè's constant approaching wasn't the best thing that came to mind when trying to figure out certain things.

"But why would I do that?" Naminè said and went up, walking over to Olette.

"You'll see that when you do," Olette replied and also went up.

"Let's get some sleep. My stomach calmed down. I seriously wonder how Aerith can eat two plates of... it, and still smile at Tifa all the way. Does she have a iron stomach?" Olette said and shook her head with incomprehension.

Olette left for the window that lead to her own room, it was comfortable directly above her bed.

"Naminè, you still want to stay?"

"Hm, no. I'm coming. I just thought about what you said. I'm really sleepy actually."

Naminè could go first, that way Olette didn't have to leave her bed even once before finally going to sleep now. She didn't even change into other clothes. Naminè on the other hand changed into a long shirt she had inherited from Kairi.

"Good night."

"Hm, good night Olette."

Kairi however was still on the roof and couldn't suppress a laugh anymore. It was kind of cute of those two to talk about things like that but also a bit embarrassing. But Olette really was right. Kairi wouldn't feel all that under pressure when Naminè reduced her clinging a bit.

"Uh, time for bed. I'll catch those two tomorrow before they leave for training. They won't mind a free day either."

--Valiant Hearts--

"I could lay the whole day here and watch the sky. Kairi, have you ever been up here when it rained? I imagine that to be so cool," Olette said and just turned her head slightly, to see where Kairi was standing with Naminè. It did bother her; not much though. The sky was just too much to distract her. Olette had always been a sucker for high places, and this one was this awesome view on top of it.

"No. Most of the times, I'm not so long up here, because it gets a bit lonely after some time. And going up while it rains is so dangerous that I never tried," Kairi said, turning around and leaning on the handrail, bending a bit over, looking at the sky.

"I think there was somewhere a mechanism to open the glass roof, but I never found it, only read about it in the blueprints of this," Kairi said and didn't know what kind of effect this would cause.

"We could open it? Are you sure? That would be so awesome! Let's look for it!" Olette shouted, quite excited.

"I told you, I've looked for it. I think it is either broken or was never completed," Kairi said, looking a bit troubled to destroy Olette's enthusiasm like that.

"Can't Cid build or repair it?" Olette asked.

That had never occurred once to Kairi. It was her special place, and to ask Cid meant that everyone knew about it. She wouldn't be able to hide here and quietly enjoy the view or anything else here.

"It's very old and Cid is really busy with the data he got from the terminal at the Organization headquarters. Let's just forget about it, okay?" Kairi said, and her smile changed to a more serious expression.

Olette decided against arguing with her; that would completely ruin all this.

The three went back to a state of just enjoying the environment, and quite a bit of time went by with just Olette laying there, Kairi and Naminè standing on the handrail and none of them saying anything. The wind was gentle and the sun warm; there was nothing more one could wish for except maybe being on green grass. Olette had almost fallen asleep when Naminè joined her and sat down next to her, looking straight up, in the sky.

"Thank you," she said.

Olette took a moment to comprehend, but seeing how Kairi didn't even move a inch away from her, all those time, Naminè must been thinking that it was because she didn't try to actually cling on her.

"Don't worry about it."

A few minutes later, they had been silent since then, Kairi joined the other two at the benches and went to a pose of halfway laying back and sitting, resting on her elbows. Together, the three looked like best friends from far away.

Kairi was wondering when and where she should start. If she could just go to a state of friendship with those two, it would help a lot. It would annul the pressure, and Kairi was sure, they could get along anyway. In one sense, they even had to, all of them being chosen of the Keyblade. But that was just on the battlefield. Kairi didn't want it to be like that. Naminè and Olette were really nice girls, and it was a shame that Kairi had to resort to tricks like this to get along with both of them.

How long had they been here? How long would it stay this way? Deep inside, Kairi wished to stay like this forever. Without the fight against the Heartless, the Organization, everything. Just staying here, with those two, enjoying the ever blue sky, the white clouds that traveled a sky sea of blue, the wind that went gently through the few openings in the glass wall and blew their hair and over their faces, the sun that warmed them up, sending her light down to them. But that wish wouldn't be granted. Kairi had a mission; all three of them shared that. There was no escape from it, but at least she wasn't alone on that path anymore.

But Kairi had to do one important step before that.

"Naminè," Kairi started. If this really worked, it was all good.

"Yes?"

"I know you... like me. And... well. I barely know you. I feel there is something special about you. But... I just can't suddenly think of you like that. I tried but it won't work. I'm not saying that I never will. But for now... can we just be friends? Until we, I mean I, know you better?"

Olette was giving her a certain look, and a bit hasty, Kairi added another line in.

"Of course I want to be friends with you too Olette. You seem like a nice girl too."

Olette sighed and then laughed, a bit forcefully, but it was really funny to hear it like that. Kairi was not the best to say such things.

"I'm a nice girl, huh," Olette whispered to herself and then gave away a big smile. "That's a sure thing for me. Although I still want to go home. I have friends of my own. Even... even if I am forced to do this Keyblade business, I still have my own friends. I still need to protect them from whatever you've been fighting. I think it's a good idea," Olette said and meant most of it.

Naminè was a bit surprised to say the least. She didn't know much about how Kairi felt, but even Naminè had noticed that Kairi had been acting much different to the last few days today. If it could be all the time like this, it was a lot better than the other way around. Naminè didn't feel so happy about it at the moment, but she gave it a happy nod.

"But you need to promise me," Naminè said, bringing up conditions of her own.

"Promise what?" Kairi replied.

She demanded a great deal from Naminè, so it was natural that Kairi should agree to whatever the blond girl proposed.

"You won't leave me all alone. Ever. We will stay together forever," Naminè said and gave Kairi one of those looks that made one really feel guilty.

What should she do? It wasn't something that could be promised too easily in the first place, even though Kairi had done it once in the past.

Kairi had promised the exact same thing long ago. Sora, Riku and herself had promised to stay together, no matter what came. And not only did she break that promise once, when the Destiny Islands got consumed by the darkness and Sora and Riku vanished, but twice when Kairi sealed Kingdom Hearts, knowing that she would lose Sora and Riku again with that.

But this was completely different. Naminè didn't just want to be her friend. The girl loved her, and that was very clear. But Naminè wouldn't agree to starting out as friends if she would not promise this.

"Naminè, even if we stay together, don't forget your promise. We're just friends now, and friends don't cling to each other like you did when we were here the last time. I will stay by your side, as long as you want, but for now, I will only do it as friend," Kairi felt that it was necessary to explain this to Naminè.

The blond girl didn't really like what Kairi said, but it couldn't be helped. If that was Kairi's wish, Naminè would abide by that.

Kairi took a deep breath and tried to order her thoughts. She wouldn't break such a promise again. Never. So should she really promise to stay by her side?

Naminè couldn't see it, but Olette showed Kairi a sign of approval.

Kairi looked directly at Naminè. It had proven to be a good idea to ask Olette, so Kairi trusted her judgement.

"Okay, I promise," Kairi replied, and was immediately jumped on by Naminè. It wasn't really nice that immediately after Naminè promised to only see her as a friend to jump Kairi for a few seconds, but for only this one time, Kairi would let it go.

Olette was amazed that it was this easy. Naminè really seemed to agree to anything as long as Kairi was the one that proposed it. There was a nagging voice in her head that scolded her for proposing this idea in the first place. It was really anything but nice to manipulate things this way. Olette could think of several reasons one would do this, but all of them didn't seem very nice. To make it worse, the target of all this was Naminè, who had no idea she was being manipulated.

For a moment, Naminè was looking quite disappointed, but almost like out of a comedy movie, Olette saved the moment.

"I'm hungry. Say, Kairi, don't tell me you completely forgot about bringing any food? I can't stay here the whole day without even a snack." Olette broke the atmosphere of the moment.

There was a really awkward silence. Usually, Kairi never stayed so long up here. There was no need to bring food or anything along. But they had been here since quite some time. Now that Olette said it, Kairi got a bit hungry herself.

"Uhm, we could go back down and try to get something. We're basically screwed if Tifa or Aerith find us," Kairi suggested.

"I'd rather avoid being beaten to a pulp by Tifa today. I still think she is some monster out of a movie. I never even once met someone that had even remotely that much power! Tifa scares the hell out of me when she rushes at me like that. Why don't they go out and fight against those Organization or whatever? They seem so far stronger than we are."

"World balance. Every world has its own rules. We chosen of the Keyblade don't abide by those rules and we are free to move from world to world. But normal people like Tifa or Aerith aren't. If they go with me, it disturbs the balance of the worlds. They can't stay too long in one particular world without ruining the balance. There are certain exceptions. Hollow Bastion is a world that was created by Ansem the Wise. A real world created by man. That is the reason that the normal rules don't apply here. Another exception is the headquarters of the Organization XIII. We don't care about the balance of that world. It will be destroyed in the end," Kairi explained.

Olette sighed. She didn't understand all this stuff about world balance. Her head started to ache and she went back to her laying position. If the decision was to be hungry or get possibly found out by Tifa, she would rather stay hungry.

Naminè wasn't exactly hungry, but the thought alone of magic training inflicted pain in her head. Beside, after that almost literally hellish food yesterday, Naminè hadn't exactly an urge to eat anything at all now.

"I'll go alone later and try to get us some snacks or something. I'm pretty good at getting away," Kairi sighed and went back to watching at the horizon.

How long had it been that she had talked with other people her age like that? Three years now? Riku and Sora must also have grown up. But Kairi wasn't the weak girl from back then anymore. She had to become stronger and stronger to beat the Heartless and especially Ansem. It was thanks to Aerith that Kairi had survived the last battle. If Aerith had not found her near the doors of Kingdom Hearts, where Kairi had passed out, exhausted way beyond her limits, unable to even do a single step...

The girls stayed for another hour up on the observation deck until Olette started to continuously complain about her empty stomach. Kairi went back to the house and managed to grab a few apples and some snacks, stuffing them all into a rucksack she had kept in her room.

Luck or whatever reason, Kairi made it safely back, and no one had followed her.

"Help yourself," Kairi said and put the rucksack next to the benches.

"Yay, food!" Olette cheered and went to annihilate the content of the rucksack.

There wasn't much beside watching the sky and the sunset a bit later that day. It was peaceful and quiet up there. It was a boon to relax a day. Leon had been taking the training much too seriously.

The one time Naminè and Olette went to check up on her, they had been quite shocked about her training. Kairi got pretty beaten up by Leon, and although she improved, it was much too hard for her. If Aerith had not held the girls back, they would have attacked Leon, thinking that he was dead serious.

The sun was almost gone when they decided to go down.

--Valiant Hearts--

"Are you sure Yuffie? I never heard of it like that," Leon asked, looking quite troubled.

The black haired ninja put on a offended expression and leaned a bit towards Leon, pointing with a finger at him.

"If you don't stop being so critical about my reports, you can go the next time!" Yuffie complained.

"That is really bad. We haven't been to that world even once. We need to tell Kairi. We can't afford any delay. If we wait just a few more days, the world will be consumed by the Heartless," Leon ordered.

"Who will go with her? The two new girls?" Yuffie asked, before leaving to tell Kairi of the new mission.

"Are you mad? They haven't had enough training, by far. I wouldn't send Kairi out at all if this weren't a emergency. Tifa and Aerith will go with her, and if we can find him, Tifa shall drag Cloud along," Leon almost yelled at her.

"I doubt Kairi will agree with that. Not only did the other two girls train like slaves, but Kairi is always worrying about the balance of worlds anyway. She'll make a huge ruckus, if I tell her that Olette and Naminè have to stay here and Aerith, Tifa and Cloud go with her," Yuffie said with a bit of a doubting expression.

"I don't care if Kairi agrees or not," Leon said with a ice cold face and went to call on Cid. They needed his machine to open the gateway enough to allow someone beside Kairi, the Keyblader, to pass through.

Yuffie left and headed over to Aerith and Tifa's house. The world had been in a really grave situation. The Heartless must have found some hole in the barrier between the worlds. There were hordes of them. Not only that; Yuffie had asked around in that world. Disguised as sailor, it had been easy to get information. Apparently, a man in a black coat had been seen several times.

"I wonder if it's the Organization."

It was already dark out there, and even though it was still warm, Yuffie couldn't get in a good mood. Kairi would disagree with Leon's decision and the other two girls probably as well.

Yuffie didn't give much on manners, and Aerith had told her once that she was always welcome in her house. That had been before she got together with Tifa, though.

--Valiant Hearts--

"I'm a bit mad that Kairi skipped training. But we gave them a really hard time. I can understand her a bit," Tifa said.

The black haired woman was laying on the couch, her head resting on Aerith's lap, looking up to her lover.

"Olette and Naminè never trained before. I think we may have overdone it a bit. And I need to talk with Leon. Naminè told me the other day of his training with Kairi. He is taking it too far I think," the other woman replied.

Aerith was playing with Tifa's hair, once in a while teasing the nose of her girlfriend with a strand of her own hair, getting a few annoying comments from her.

"But it's nice to have some time for ourselves too. It is exhausting to play trainer everyday. I'm sure you feel like that too, Aerith-pon," Tifa said, grabbing the left hand of her lover, kissing it, and preventing any more childish play with her hair.

"Just that you know, you're going to comb my hair later. I'm sure it's all messed up thanks to you," Tifa said, pretending to be angry.

Aerith freed her hand, laying both of them on Tifa's cheeks and leaning over.

"Seems I'm disturbing you. You two know where Kairi is?" Yuffie asked, out of the blue. She had been standing for a while there; neither of the women had heard the door opening.

"What do you want, plague?" Tifa said, not pretending to be angry anymore.

It was Yuffie's special talent to show up when Tifa was flirting with Aerith. And it happened quite often too.

Aerith bent over, whispering something in Tifa's ear, which made her blush a bit, and then looked over to Yuffie. The two didn't mind Yuffie seeing them like that, but it always ruined any romantic mood.

"Right behind you, Yuffie," Aerith answered with a smile.

Yuffie turned around and found indeed Kairi and the other two girls standing right behind her. They looked a bit confused. Yuffie didn't seem like she had come over for a friendly visit.

"New mission Kairi. You know the keyhole portal in the library in the castle? The one we ignored for quite some time? I checked the world out, and its basically under attack from the Heartless. Leon ordered you, Tifa and Aerith to go and exterminate the Heartless. I need to warn you that-" Yuffie was cut off by Olette.

"What? We've trained like slaves, and now we're simply left behind to look after the house? Leon can't be serious about that!" Olette complained quite loudly.

Olette was angry about being left out, not about being unable to go to another world and fight against whatever there was. If one thing annoyed her, then it was being left out or being ignored.

"I knew you would complain but Leon is as obstinate as a rock. He won't give a inch in this matter," Yuffie replied, shook her head and looked at Kairi.

"Cid is repairing his machine. He'll be ready tomorrow morning. I need to get some sleep, I have another surveillance mission the day after tomorrow. Good luck Kairi."

With that, Yuffie left.

Kairi was looking quite angry, Olette no less. Naminè didn't seem to understand much of it, but that Kairi had such a expression didn't please her either.

"What is Leon thinking? He knows that sending non-Keyblader to other worlds causes disturbances! And then, to a complete new world on top of that. Olette and Naminè had plenty of training, didn't they?" Kairi looked over to Tifa and Aerith. Tifa had left her position and stood up, Aerith still sitting on the couch.

"I know what you feel like right now. But I have to agree with Leon. Olette and Naminè don't have enough training yet, and I'd rather look after you myself, with the Organization and all going on," Tifa said.

Kairi didn't say anything. No matter what she would say, in the end Tifa and Aerith worried too much about her. She wasn't the only Keyblader anymore, and it was downright stupid to still send other people with her to another world. One day, the disturbance would have a great effect on the worlds.

"Just what reason has Leon to ignore always everything I accomplish? But it's not only that! This time, he ignores all three of us! What do we train for in the first place if we don't get taken seriously? They have been trained just as hard as I do, but I bet Leon didn't even consider once that I could actually complete a mission without having both of you with me."

Olette was a bit flattered that Kairi said it like that, but it was more than the average weird occurrence that Kairi was yelling like that at Tifa and Aerith. Olette understood the problem, but this wouldn't solve anything.

"Let's stop that Kairi, it's not going to help if you yell and-" Kairi waved with her hand and continued her rant. Olette knew from her own experience that it was a bit hopeless to ask her to reason now.

Tifa wanted to throw some arguments back, but Kairi didn't give her the chance.

"You two are so incredible powerful, I always feel unnecessary when I go with you. I bet, if one of you would be the Keyblade's chosen, Leon wouldn't even take notice of my existence!" Kairi yelled and talked herself more into anger with every word.

"That is not true dear, I'm sure that-" Aerith couldn't even finish one line.

"I know you two worry about me, I would too if the roles were the other way around, but I can basically sit around and wait for you at the portal until the Heartless are defeated. I know it's bad to get hurt, and I don't like that either, but it hurts even more to be useless like that! Then what do I train so hard for? What do they train for? To sit one day at the portal, like I did so many times? We could as well just stop training!"

Naminè had been looking in turns at Kairi, who seemed to be about to explode, and Aerith and Tifa, whom looked more worried about her than angry. Kairi was really scary that way, and Naminè tried to get her attention with taking her hand.

"Kairi, don't yell like that, it's scary," Naminè said, but Kairi didn't even notice her attempt to end this.

Olette had her own quarrels with her parents, and some of them ended like this too, but the cause of those things wasn't even remotely close to what the topic here was. It was awkward to see Kairi arguing like this with her, more or less, parents.

"I'm really sick of this! I'm not the little girl that just got her Keyblade anymore! I may be not as strong as Tifa, and can't use magic like Aerith, but Olette and I held off that Organization member, and he was ridiculously powerful!"

"You got really hurt dear, and if not Olette had been there, who knows what-" Aerith tried to dim the flames of her rage.

"But Olette is here! She can go with me! And Naminè too! I saw them train, and I trust them! We are not Keybladers to open the portals for you, Cloud, Leon, Yuffie or someone else! They chose us for a reason! We aren't puppets Leon can order around freely!"

"Leon is still our leader! And even if I don't like some of his decisions, he does his job! You, and you two too, may be chosen of the Keyblade. But that doesn't mean you are invincible! What if the Organization is on the move? Will you be able to hold three of them off? Like Aerith and Yuffie did for you in Twilight Town?" Tifa went back at her.

"Let's stop here Kairi. Arguing with your parents gets you nowhere. They aren't at fault here," Olette said and grabbed Kairi's wrist.

"Yes, lets stop yelling. I don't like you like that," Naminè added in.

Kairi wanted to counter something, but after looking at the awkward, embarrassed and worried faces around her, she couldn't. Tifa was right, she knew it, but Kairi had her own points too! Olette had let go of her wrist, and Kairi had enough for today.

"I'm going to sleep!!" Kairi shouted, and took both Naminè's and Olette's hand, dragging them along.

Kairi stopped once they had entered the room Olette and Naminè were sleeping at.

"This Idiot! What does he think he is? If not for me, he would still lurk around in Traverse Town!" Kairi shouted and kicked against a drawer.

"Calm down Kairi. It's not going to help if you run havoc now" Olette said, grabbing her arm.

"Let me go! Why do you stay so calm when they're obviously ignoring your hard work?" Kairi tried to get free, but Olette was the stronger one.

"I don't really get it, but isn't it good to not get hurt?" Naminè said and sat on her bed.

"That's not the point. Of course I'm happy if everyone is well, but this is just ridiculous!" Kairi replied, slowly losing up.

"Maybe you can talk to Leon and he will-" Olette tried to find a solution to this drama.

"He won't budge an inch. He doesn't believe the slightest in my or your abilities. Unless I can prove that we three alone are able to-" Kairi stopped in the middle of the line.

"Prove what? Are you okay?" Olette let go of Kairi and Naminè walked closer to examine the now completely silent Kairi.

"But that's it. We can just go alone. It's too hard to open a portal alone, but I'm not. You two have Keyblades as well. We'll just sneak out and accomplish that mission without the help of the others."

"I'm with you," Olette said. She wouldn't stand for this. What was that training for? Just for when she got home to rule at struggle? That couldn't be all! Olette wanted to prove herself to this Leon guy, to prove that she was not inferior to the others.

"You promised to stay with me forever. I'll go with you," Naminè said and went to cling to Kairi's arm.

For once, Kairi didn't mind. It was okay for now. After all, Naminè had never really fought against the Heartless. It would be a bit of a shock for her. And a big conversion.

"Olette, I will knock on your window when we set out. You two, pretend to accept whatever Leon decided for now, I will sulk in my room, to make it authentic. I trust you two," Kairi said and with that, their great escape plan was set in motion.

Kairi didn't show up for dinner, and had locked herself up in her room, refusing to speak with both Tifa and Aerith.

Olette and Naminè didn't eat much, both being quiet and then leaving for their room.

Aerith was worried about them, but even Naminè wouldn't speak to her.

"Don't you think we've been a bit unfair to them?" Aerith asked.

She was sitting on the table, quite worried. Kairi had only once reacted that bad to something like this. And now, it wasn't just Kairi. That Kairi was sulking affected Naminè as well, and Olette had her own reasons to be angry. After all, maybe this new world offered a way back home for her.

Tifa walked behind her, leaning down, laying her arms around Aerith's shoulders, kissing her neck.

"Don't worry about it so much. Kairi won't sulk forever. And at some point, we can entrust Naminè and Olette with the role of her protectors. Maybe. I don't feel so well when I think about it, really. But don't make such a face. I know how you feel. Kairi is like a daughter for me too. You aren't alone with your worries."

"Thank you. I'm happy to have you at my side." Aerith laid her own hands on Tifa's. "Let us go to bed. I'll comb your hair after the mission, yes? It is always really messy when you fight anyway."

"Your hair ain't no better. Sometimes, you have frozen or burned strands from all your magic," Tifa now teased her, pulling a strand of hair, playing with it. "Revenge," Tifa giggled, and teased her lovers nose with it.

--Valiant Hearts--

"All ready?" Kairi asked.

Naminè gave her a nod, holding onto Monochrome. She wouldn't be a hindrance. Olette had explained a few basic battle strategics to her. It was a bit confusing, but Naminè would manage.

Olette had a few doubts about this. It wasn't really nice to fight for one's life, even if it helped a lot of people. Yes, maybe there was a way back to her world, and on top of all, Olette wanted to prove herself to the others. For now, Olette had only summoned up her Circle of Life Keyblade. Only if it was necessary, only in a fight, Olette summoned the second. She had managed to do it at almost equal speed to Kairi.

"Yes," both girls simultaneously said.

"Then let us go."

The three girls went over the roofs, all in secret, and without being seen, without being found out by anyone, they reached the castle.

This time, there was no one around. Locked doors were no hindrance for them. They had three all-fitting keys.

Kairi had just opened the last lock, the doors of the library, with Oathkeeper, and they went upstairs.

"It's here." Kairi stopped in front of a bookshelf that gave off a weird vibe.

Naminè and Olette could feel it too. It was as if something inside there was resonating, reacting to their Keyblades. It wasn't particularly a nasty feeling, but not a good one either.

"Concentrate on your Keyblade with the wish to open a gate. And direct the Keyblade at the bookshelf. It helps if you close your eyes beforehand," Kairi explained and did the first step.

It took no longer than a few seconds and a light ray emitted from Oathkeeper and hit the bookshelf. A small portal, in form of a keyhole, opened up. Shortly after, Naminè's and Olette's light ray's fused with the gate, opening it far enough to allow all three of them to walk through it.

"We won't come back here until we finished our mission. Both of you... are you sure you're ready? There will be Heartless on the path to another world. We will have to fight even before we reach the world," Kairi asked, looking first at Naminè, then Olette.

Kairi had her own thoughts. Olette had fought against a Organization member, she didn't need to worry much about her. She was also being trained by Tifa. But Naminè didn't improve as much, compared to Olette, and her physical abilities were to say the least, pretty terrible. And as far as Kairi knew, she had not even once fought anything, not even a lesser Heartless. Kairi would have to look out after her. In a fitting moment, Kairi would ask Olette to play a guardian role for Naminè.

Both gave a nod, and without further questions, without further words, they stepped together through the gateway.

It was only a second after they went through that it closed itself, leaving them on a dark path.

The first lesser Heartless were already waiting for them.

"Here we go," Kairi shouted and rushed ahead.

End of Chapter VIII


	9. Pirates and Parley!

Author Note: I am honestly sorry for the long break, but after my "planned" break, i caught a real bad cold and was unable to do any work for over a week. I'm still not completely over it but work should resume slowly now. Also, I lost my grammar beta, and now I have to look for a new one before I can continue. If any of you readers know someone good, please point me in the right direction.

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter IX

Pirates and Parley!

"Arrr, where is Jack? Did one of ye see that lousy bastard?" Barbossa was stomping over the deck, past wet and dirty sailors, untouched by the huge storm they were sailing through. Jack had vanished out of nowhere, now of all times, when his plans were near to success!

A little ape, sitting on Barbossa's shoulder was squeaking and pointing at a giant pile of thick rope, near the board rail. It was moving. There was not one of the sailors that would dare to slack like this under him, first mate Barbossa.

With a rough jerk, Barbossa threw the rope away, unveiling a hiding Captain Jack Sparrow with a half empty bottle of rum in his hands.

"Arr, drinkin' while a storm be bruin, truly, only a idiot would do that," Barbossa scoffed.

"Well, of course I am to drink! I need... to be prepared, yes, prepared for our greatest, no, the greatest raid in the very history of pirates," Sparrow replied, each word giving clearly away that he was drunk, to say the least.

"I never seen that map you're claiming 'bout. Captain." The last word Barbossa added in pure sarcasm.

"This one is special, very special indeed, if I may say so."

Sparrow was, intentionally or not that no one knew, stalking over the deck, a few foot away from Barbossa standing still.

"The map, you ask, tis right here." Sparrow touched his own chest with his hand palm.

"Let me see it, Captain. I needs to make sure we're takin' the right route," Barbossa asked, a evil grin grazing his face.

"'fraid I can't do that," Sparrow answered and stalked away, back into the warm rooms of the ship, his ship, the_ Black Pearl_.

"Wait till he fall's asleep, drunk and quiet, and lock him in the brig! Search him and get me that map!" Barbossa shouted.

It should been impossible for Jack to hear Barbossa shouting in this storm. Even if he did, Barbossa could just tell him he yelled at one of the crew member. But it was unlikely that Jack could hear anything.

The crew was feed up with his crazy behavior and retarded gestures. The _Black Pearl_ would be his, soon enough, and Barbossa would be Captain Barbossa.

"Today's a good night, arrr!" Barbossa called out and started to laugh.

The crew joined his laughter.

--Valiant Hearts--

"I knew it wouldn't be funny, but this isn't like anything I've ever experienced. If even one of these things touches you, it's as if every warmth in your body is being stolen, drawn out, eaten by these things," Olette complained.

They had finally made it through the path. It had remained unused for long enough to have it been filled with an almost never ending army of Heartless.

"I'm happy you agreed to take the protector job until Naminè gets used to this. I know it's asking much of you, but I won't have you or Naminè hurt," Kairi said, sitting on the dark path, in front of the gateway that lead to the other world.

The way had been rough, and at first, they had a major problem. Naminè couldn't really fight and there was little time to teach her. The only way left to them was learning by doing, and Naminè had to try her best.

Kairi had asked Olette to stick very close to Naminè, to prevent any Heartless from close combat with her. Naminè was a magic user, and they were very vulnerable in a close quarters fight.

For Naminè herself, it was a very scary thing to fight at first, but seeing how Kairi charged at these things without hesitation, and they fell in numbers to her attacks, Naminè got some self confidence and tried to fight. The first attempts had resulted in Olette being almost burned, but after a few more failures, Naminè could at least use her magic to back up Kairi further ahead.

"Naminè, if we fight any Heartless, try to stay back and prevent any Heartless from reaching you. Olette and I will switch positions after we pass the portal. I'll be responsible to protect you, and I will not let any Heartless harm you. Olette, you can go full out with two blades after we pass. Don't show any hesitation to damage property if you need to. Property can be fixed, human hearts and the world cannot," Kairi instructed, standing up.

Naminè hold tight on Monochrome, and Olette now summoned forth Hero's Crest. It was also Naminè's job to support both Olette and Kairi with curative magic, and per coincidence was cure the only spell she had managed to cast on second grade without any side-effects occurring.

The blond girl recited a cure spell and cast it onto the three at once.

"Great Dream of the Unity, be a blessing for our bodies."

Olette stretched her arms and legs and Kairi sorted out unnecessary thoughts. No matter where they would end up, there was always the chance to enter a area full of Heartless or worse.

"Let's open the portal," Kairi ordered.

Over the past events, since they had left Hollow Bastion, Kairi had acted more as a leader than Olette had ever seen before. Her experience came really in handy, and even Naminè followed her orders without questioning the sense of it.

Three Keyblades emitted light rays that fused together at the tiny keyhole. Just seconds after, it was glowing in a bright light, and the girls were unable to look through it.

"That's not good. It means this portal is unstable and we may not be able to go back through this one. Which means we would be stuck until we find another portal. Which won't necessarily lead to Hollow Bastion," Kairi explained, but there was no way back.

If they turned around now, Leon would never again even consider to have her go with Olette and Naminè.

"On three, we jump. We must be ready to defend ourselves if there is any Heartless in the area we arrive. Be prepared you two," Kairi told them, with a serious tune.

Both girls have her a nod, and after Kairi counted to three, they jumped.

The first thing Kairi saw was a wall of planks. The next thing was stars. The portal must been floating into mid air, then they immediately crashed into the wall. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Kairi to regain her senses and get up. There was no sign of Heartless.

"I must be more drunk than I had ever imagined," someone said.

Kairi turned around. It took her a moment to understand the situation they were in.

They were inside a barred cage, solely out of metal. On the opposite side was a near identical cage, and inside there was a really sloppy looking man in chains. Obviously they were in some sort of prison.

The ground did all of a sudden tremble and Kairi fell down. The ground moving wasn't a good sign.

For now, Kairi looked after Naminè and Olette. They had also crashed onto the ground, but Olette was already up and didn't seem to be hurt. Naminè was sitting, looking completely confused, in a corner of the cage, seemingly well.

"Where the heck are we Kairi?" Olette asked.

"Ye are on board of my ship, the fastest ship that's been ever build, the _Black Pearl_, ladies," the man said.

"Your ship? _Black Pearl_? You don't look like the one in charge," Kairi replied, trying to open the lock to their cage.

It was impossible. The look was on the other side, and the holes weren't big enough to put a hand between them. A Keyblade could open any lock, but if one couldn't reach its front, even a Keyblade was useless.

"I am Captain Jack Sparrow,"

"Are you a pirate, Jack Sparrow?" Kairi asked.

"Captain! Jack Sparrow if you'd please," Sparrow replied and made a weird gesture with his together chained hands.

"So, Captain Jack Sparrow, where are we?" Kairi asked again.

"I've told ye, in the brig of my ship, the _Black Pearl,_ the fastest ship that-" Sparrow went on a explanation tour again.

"So, why are you, the captain, in the brig?" Olette cut him off.

"Ah, aye, that's a good question, very good question indeed," Sparrow answered.

For now, there was nothing they could do. Naminè could try to blast open the cage with magic, but that was rather dangerous. And Kairi would try to get as much information as possible out of this man.

"You see, I've had this map, for a island one can't find, unless one knows where it is, ladies."

"And? Why are you down here?" Kairi examined the metal the cage was made of closer.

"My first mate Barbossa, aye, turned traitor; he stole my ship, the map and the crew. Must been jealous of my genius," Sparrow said with a slight pity implying tune.

"Ye know, this map leads to a old, very old, Aztec treasure, unimaginable wealth. How about it. You three free me, and I'll, say, share twenty-eighty with you."

"Naminè, are you okay? We're safe here for now, but we need to stay on guard. Stick close to me please," Kairi said, ignoring Jack Sparrows tremendous tale of betrayal and treasure.

"I will. This place is a bit scary, and it stinks too," Naminè said, standing up, staying close to Kairi.

"Not? How about seventy-thirty? That's a good deal for you three!" Sparrow continued his offers.

"Olette, do you think you can break these bars here? You could hit them with your full strength and both blades at once. It could get us free."

Olette nodded and took a deep breath. With a jerk, the girl pushed forwards, swinging both blades over her head, hitting the bars with full power. "Break!"

It gave a tremendous clang and the bars couldn't stand that much brute force. They had been rusty and very old. If they had been newer, Olette wouldn't had made it.

"Let's make a run for it," Kairi said, leaving the cage through the new born hole.

"I would be very, indeed very grateful, if you three could undo my chains," Sparrow pleaded and stood up. He was both with his hands and his feet chained on the wall.

"Kairi, can't we free that man? He doesn't look like a bad guy," Naminè said and stopped.

Olette turned around and Kairi sighed. This man was a pirate. According to himself, if he was quite sane that is, he was even the former captain of this ship.

"The young lady is right. I'm a honorary pirate, and I will pay the proper respect to the ones that rescued me. You shall fear no harm or exploit, ladies." Sparrow enforced what Naminè said.

"I don't trust you in the slightest, but if Naminè wants to free you, I won't stop her," Kairi said, turning around and facing Naminè.

"You know how to open his locks?" Kairi asked and got a short nod from Naminè.

Naminè had tried it a few times at Hollow Bastion and didn't have any problems with it.

Monochrome emitted its first light ray, opening the lock to the cage. The second and third undid the chains he was bound to and set Jack Sparrow free.

"Ye have my thanks, young ladies. Many thanks for rescuing me. Now, if ye excuse me, I'm gonna have Barbossa return my ship," Sparrow said, while stalking towards the stairs.

In that moment, Kairi looked up the stairs and saw something terrible.

"We might have a serious problem," Kairi said and walked back in the back of the room.

"What do you mean Kairi? What did you see?" Olette was curious.

"Nobodies. There might be Heartless too, I don't know."

For now, Kairi had to prepare for a battle. If there were Nobodies, it meant the Organization was involved. It would be a really dumb move to just rush up there and attack whatever there was. She did see a couple of Nobodies scurrying around. They didn't notice her down there, though. The best maneuver would be to lure them down there.

Kairi looked around, examine the room closely. It was about twenty or twenty-four foot long and not more than ten or fourteen foot wide. She didn't know what kind of Nobodies were up there and, if there were any at all, what Heartless. Having a strategy was the key to a successful battle. That they didn't get noticed yet was their biggest advantage.

Sparrow had vanished in the meantime and Olette and Naminè, whom were quite a bit puzzled at how calm she was, watched Kairi walked around and examine different things. Beside the two cages in this room, who was some sort of prison inside a ship, there were lots of barrels, trunks and other things. Some of them had some sort of fluid in it, and it smelled awful.

"Naminè. Don't use your magic carelessly here. I have no idea what they store in those trunks and barrels. It might be explosive. Lightning won't work inside. Ice could make this narrow place even worse. Can you stick to healing me and Olette?"

Naminè was rather pale when Kairi asked. It wasn't easy to keep using curative magic and this place somehow scared her a little bit. The gateway had already been quite scary, and Naminè had been happy that she didn't have to actually fight them. But this now was different. There wasn't enough room to stay back.

"I'll try. But cure magic is really exhausting. I... don't know how long I can keep-"

Kairi shook her head. Naminè was new to this, completely new. She had to take it easy on her.

"It's fine. If we're only facing lesser Nobodies we will be fine."

It was important to calm her down. If Naminè panicked as soon as one Nobody or Heartless came close to her, that would be very bad. No matter how skilled a magic user was, sometimes close quarter combat was unavoidable.

"Basically I will show myself at the stairs and lure them down. Olette, you stay near Naminè to protect her if anything gets past me. And I'm no wonder fighter like Tifa. There will be stuff that gets past me."

With a gaze at the pale Naminè, Kairi looked straight at Olette, giving her a short smile.

"I trust you," Kairi said.

Olette could feel her heart skip for a split second. How could Kairi just trust her like that? She didn't even do anything special to earn that trust.

"Then let's get done with this."

Kairi had a odd feeling in the stomach area. She wasn't new to fighting monsters in general, but something was odd about this ship. It made her feel like there was something ill in the air. Maybe it was just the stink of this old room.

Olette summoned Hero's Crest and arranged a few of the barrels to stand in the way between her and the walls. These things were heavy and Olette had to push them over the slightly slick ground with all her might. Those monsters wouldn't bother to exploit the terrain. If those barrels blocked the way, they would head straight for her. The place was narrow, so the number of these things that could attack at once was limited. If someone wanted to get through her, he had to literally get her out of the way.

From earlier, Olette knew that Naminè was a potent magic user, and she could count on her for healing purposes. In any case, Olette would stand her ground. Like this, it was impossible to do any speedy maneuver but in this narrow place were such movements basically useless anyway.

Naminè held tight on Monochrome and glared at Kairi's back. She wasn't feeling well about the fact that Kairi was about to play bait and then stay so far ahead. It would be very hard to cast a cure spell on Kairi from that distance.

Just seconds before Kairi stepped on the first step of the stairs, something odd happened. The whole room, or the ship, the world, Kairi couldn't tell, went and stopped. It was different from when it happened in Twilight Town. People alien to that world could still move. But even Olette and Naminè were frozen stiff.

Kairi was about to worry what has caused this phenomenon when a voice echoed through her head. Not only once but it echoed several times. On top of that, it was completely unintelligible. Kairi couldn't understand one word of it. It took her a few seconds to realize that the words not only did echo in her head but the words appeared in her mind.

It was like as if someone wanted to tell something. But it made no sense. It was completely incomprehensible.

"Cdyztd lg vid yihvd elltu vizv odze vl mlvihmfmduu. Vilud yil ztd mlv yilod, mlt mzwfiv, cdyztd lg vidm, zu vids cdzt hoo yhoo. Lmbd vid elltu ztd lkdm, el mlv iduhvzvd. Yd ztd yzhvhmf glt slw, Pdscozedt"

"Kairi, are you spacing out? Now of all times?" Olette mocked from further back.

What had just happened? When had time resumed flow? Did she... imagine this?

"I just... there was... never mind."

What in the world had just happened?

"You just stand there for almost a minute and spaced out Kairi. That's not like you."

"Yeah I'm fine. It's nothing, really."

For now, they needed to focus on the mission. Their current position wasn't the best. The nobodies could notice them any time soon.

And they came sooner than anticipated.

--Valiant Hearts--

"Captain Barbossa, I will handle those fools. They are not worthy for you to be concerned with."

A man, completely veiled by his dark coat, was talking to Barbossa. They had noticed Kairi and the girls long ago, and the deck was basically empty but Barbossa and the man in the black coat. They were anchored near a marooned island. They would leave Jack here, and it was in the intention of the unknown man to do the same with those three girls.

"I will have my... underlings, take care of them. If you'd please, you could watch."

"Aye, I got better to do than foolin' 'round with those imbeciles. Get them off my ship, mate. We ain't the time for idling any longer," Barbossa ordered and left for his quarters. He couldn't stand the show that man put on.

"I'll have them play a little. The Superior did order me to bring chaos to this world, but he never said I can't have my fun with them," the man said and clicked with his fingers.

Over a dozen Nobodies and a horde of Heartless appeared on deck. The crew was watching the spectacle from inside the cabin.

"That man be in league with Davy Jones, I tell ye," one of them said.

The man took his hood down, unveiling his face. Blond hair, several earrings and his face graced with a no less blond beard.

With a simple wave of his arm, the Nobodies went down the stairs.

--Valiant Hearts--

Before Kairi could properly react, half a dozen Nobodies had already moved past her. She managed to hit one of them right on the head with her Keyblade and it vanished before Kairi had to focus her attention on what came further down the stairs. It was only Nobodies. The Heartless didn't seem to be here yet. That made the whole battle a lot easier. If there only were those few-

"We have a problem here Kairi!" Olette shouted from the back.

Kairi managed to turn around, just to look at a nightmare. Behind her, around Olette, had spawned a lot of Heartless, only the weakest kind, but there was an awful lot of them. Naminè had already gone to the very back of the room and was prepared to backup Olette. The barrels had been knocked over by the sheer amount of Heartless that had spawned on the ground. Olette was now open, vulnerable to every direction.

The attack began and it was nothing short of a nightmare. Olette couldn't defend to every site at once. Her best was slaying whatever came close to her, and anything that went for Naminè had to get past her. It was a much worse duty to protect Naminè than Olette had been thinking. She had to effectively kill any and everything that went for her. Those things jumped at her, scratched her with their little dark claws, leaving red scratches all over her skin.

With a brave attempt, Olette took both Keyblades and whirled around, which lifted the rows of the Heartless a bit. But it didn't help much. There were too many. Although Olette could handle a few of them at once, they attacked from every side. There were at least ten of them at one time, and even though Olette killed them with just a slash or two, they kept coming and multiplying.

"Children of the Earth, let us endure," Naminè had to use recitation cure already. It was hard to keep up with all the injuries Olette was taking. But it wasn't her fault at all. No human being could have defended against that many enemies at once.

"Trees of the infinite forest, send me your blessing."

It was literally a battle against the clock. If Naminè ran out of stamina and couldn't heal Olette anymore, it wouldn't take more than half a minute for her go down. And for now, Naminè was already quite exhausted. If this didn't end soon...

"I really could use some help here Kairi!"

Naminè couldn't keep up with the healing. Olette had scratches all over the place, and her inner warmth was being drained. It was a dreadful feeling and if that was fighting Heartless, Olette had now a glimpse of a clue how tough Kairi's past few years must have been.

Kairi couldn't pay close attention to what happened further back in the room. The Nobodies kept getting more and if not for her newly gained skills, she would've fallen to their attacks long ago. A basic sortie did the trick against those lesser things. Horizontal slashes were much more suitable than vertical ones, simply because the room was not all that high. Those things didn't stand much of a chance, but Kairi was surrounded.

There was no helping it. Kairi centered Oathkeeper in mid-air, did a whirlwind attack and slew four of the Nobodies with it. She had to help Olette to eliminate those Heartless first. A few seconds after escaping her own pinch, Kairi was horrified by the view that lay before her. There was a giant pile of Heartless, and for a split second, Kairi could see the rest of Circle of Life, Olette's Keyblade, vanish under the pile.

That was really bad! Kairi had no idea what this would do to Olette, but whatever it was, one thing was certain. It would be really bad.

That must be a few dozen of them. To hack them all away one for one would take much too long. And the Nobodies were coming too. It was really dangerous but they had to do it. No matter what the outcome would be.

--Valiant Hearts--

It was dark. Just dark. Not the kind one saw in the night, in the streets or a pitch black room. There was not even a spark of light. Nothing at all. She was standing all alone amidst an impervious darkness. Her body felt unutterably cold. It was as if she wasn't even alive. Was that it? Was she dead? Did she die back there?

She couldn't even feel anxiety or fear anymore. There was nothing left to feel. Just emptiness. But the others would come to rescue her. Kairi would come.

She waited, waited for so long, it seemed like a eternity. But no one came. It just looked like she was all forgotten. It was completely hopeless. No one would come. They didn't care at all. And why should they? What good would it do to rescue her?

Time ran by, and she didn't know how long she was there. Her eyes had tried to get used to the darkness but there was nothing worth seeing, even if she were to see in this eternal darkness. What did she wait here for? Why was she here?

It felt like a eternity passed in this darkness. There was nothing she could do, nothing that was worth doing. But why would she care to do anything in the first place? It was all hopeless.

She was all alone and forgotten in this darkness. Or was it that she just returned to where she belonged? Had this all been a dream? What if all there ever was had been darkness?

But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.

After a while, even breathing seemed to become senseless. What good would it do to stay alive in this place? Why was she alive anyway? Did it matter? No. There was no one that would care that...

Something in her memory rang. Something was there. The darkness was wavering around her, moving, as if a very powerful light was trying to kill it. Who was there?

"Snap out of it!"

Someone was yelling at her. It hurt in her head, but this voice... she knew this voice.

"Olette, come to!" The voice echoed.

Olette? Was that her? Her name? She had forgotten, for all the time nothing had mattered. What good did a name any-

A sharp pain made her scream out. The pain was coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. It was as if her soul was being cut, something was grasping her heart.

But the darkness lost ground with every second. A bright light, dazzling and blinding, was far away and came closer, and every inch it came, the darkness moved away, vanished.

The following seconds could only be described as confusing. The light speed up in a insane way and enclosed her before she knew.

Olette opened her eyes, and what she saw made her feel much better. The first thing she saw after escaping the darkness was Kairi's face. Olette had never been so happy to see Kairi. It was only a vague feeling, but it was like Kairi had called her back.

"Finally, you've come to. You took quite the beating from the Heartless. I thought you would never come back. We were really worried. Naminè gave it her best shot to heal you."

They were not on the ship anymore.

"What... happened? I only remember that I was fighting those Heartless and they kept getting more, and the next moment I was... I don't know. I don't want to remember it. It's giving me goosebumps that I was thinking such stuff. You never told me those Heartless basically take every grain happiness from you. This was worse than getting injured from that man we fought at the mansion!" Olette blurted out, turning pale when she remembered the darkness.

"Long story... But it looks like we have plenty... yes, plenty of time to explain," Kairi said, with a somewhat forced smile.

Olette was laying on sandy ground, her head on Kairi's lap, and looking straight up in her face. It was somewhat different from earlier. Although serious, her eyes were red and swollen, as if... but that was just ridiculous. Why would she?

"We somehow blasted those Heartless to hell. Well, Naminè did. We then literally made a run for it. For some time... I thought you were gone."

Those last words came more slowly than the rest.

"When I decided to go back and help you fight the Heartless..."

--Valiant Hearts--

They had to get Olette out of there. But in front were the Nobodies, in the back the Heartless, and under them, buried alive, Olette. Kairi couldn't come up with anything better.

Kairi could see that the type of the Nobodies now changed. It wasn't just the lesser ones now. A few of a different type came down the stairs and they started shooting with something that looked like a rifle. Deflecting two of three shots with Oathkeeper, she jumped over a barrel and made a run for it to reach Naminè.

The Heartless seemed to completely ignore her existence, presumably because Olette was buried under them.

Naminè was completely pale. Having witnessed how Olette was being buried alive under a pile of darkness was more than just slightly frightening. Kairi took a few seconds to get her to snap out of it. She needed Naminè now, needed her to save Olette.

"Naminè. Naminè!" Kairi shook her.

The blond girl looked quite out of it. But they had no time to waste.

"Naminè. I know it sounds crazy but cast a Firera spell direct on that pile of Heartless. Don't worry, I'll cast a ice spell to protect us from the fire. We need to get Olette out of here. We all need to get out of here. The faster the better."

Naminè took a few seconds to understand what Kairi wanted her to do. That was really dangerous, but if Kairi wanted her to do that, she would.

Directing Monochrome at the pile, Naminè started reciting, almost synchronized with Kairi.

A Firera spell would take longer naturally, so it would actually work out. While Kairi couldn't use a recitation, Naminè did, which was probably a over the top effect in this cramped room.

"Ifirt, lend me your lance!"

Seconds before Naminè finished, Kairi casted her blizzard spell on a couple of barrels and trunks that stood between them and the Heartless pile. A few Nobodies that had found them got caught up in it. It froze them together, building almost a wall of ice between the girls and the Heartless. It wasn't wide enough to cover the whole room width, but it had to suffice.

The Firera spell that Naminè used took the form of a lance with a fireball on its peak. The lance shot an instant later right at its goal. The impact was devastating, not only blasting most of the Heartless to hell but also setting half of the room on fire.

The ice didn't hold. Some of the fire burst over to where the girls had taken cover. Kairi reacted in an instant and protected Naminè, embracing her, acting as a shield. It wasn't much, but enough to make Kairi grind her teeth. Magic fire was much hotter than its natural cousin. Thank god, it didn't seem to leave any noticeable burns on her back.

The fire had just cease to spread any further as Kairi went up, started to run where the pile had been, jumped over a burning barrel which just happened to explode after Kairi had landed behind it. It threw her off balance, and the explosion itself send some wood shards all over the place, two of them piercing her left arm.

Kairi had to endure it; Olette was right in front of her. She was unconscious and pale, breathing oddly and shivering all over, even though the room was burning hot. They had to get out of here.

When Kairi turned around, carrying Olette, she noticed that it wouldn't be so easy.

"I think that's enough destruction for now," some unknown voice spoke to her. How much worse could her situation get?

A man with a huge beard, scruffy and dirty, smelling across the room after rum, came down the stairs, followed by another man. It was not the man that was obviously a pirate that got Kairi's attention. It was the other man and what he held.

Blond hair, a no less blond beard and several earrings. And the dark coat that only members of the Organization wore. And he held Naminè, threatening her with a over-sized playing card.

This was now officially a really bad day, if not the worst she had ever had. She had to get out of here, and heal Olette. It was really worrying that she was ice cold, even though the room was burning and hot enough to make Kairi sweat like on a barbecue. And now Kairi had to rescue Naminè from the evil clutches of a Organization member too.

"Tis troubling, settin' my ship on fire like that. And ye sure you can handle those alright, mate?"

"Aye, sure captain Barbossa. Can leave this to me."

As to enforce that fact, the blonde waved his right arm around, setting free hundreds of dozens of cards, which immediately extinguished the fire. The room was smelling after burned paper, burning old rotten wood and other things that the fire had burned. But at least the heat went down. Kairi couldn't have stood it much longer.

The scruffy man did a short laugh and then left. If that guy couldn't handle those, he'd have him go over the plank alright.

"I know what you want. Want me to return her to you, don't you? I don't think it'll work out just that way. But how about a game. If you can answer a question I ask you, you will get her back and free to go. Over board of course. If you answer wrong or not at all, I will take her with me and you will face my cards."

Kairi had little choice. The cards were still there and if he could control them like he did with the fire, then there was little hope to escape them. They would slice her and Olette to little pieces.

"Who are you anyway?" Kairi asked.

She had to play on time, to think of an plan.

"My name is Luxord. I'm a gambler. But a gamble comes at a price. And you have little choice but to abide by what I say. Or I could kill little miss here right on the spot."

Xemnas did order him to bring chaos to a world of his choice. Pirates and their customs were a great place for gambles, and it was a wink of fortune for him that they showed up right on the ship he was on.

"So what is your question? I don't have time to waste."

Kairi needed to make hurry. Olette's breathing got more shallow by the minute and now that the fire was out, Kairi could feel her icy body.

Luxord smiled with a most disgusting grin and then started this little game of his.

No one had ever answered this riddle before, and so would also this little Keyblader girl fail at it. It was one of the ten hardest riddles he knew, and even in the Organization had only Xemnas known the answer to a few of them.

"Burning hot and freezing cold, of flesh and stone, of glass and ice, full of hate, full of joy, forgiving and cruel, in man and beast. Restless as the wind, yet calm as the ocean and steady as the earth. We know all and nothing about it, and yet we have unwavering trust in it. Unknown and common, strong and weak, this all it is."

That made not much sense. How could something be all that? Kairi was quite confused. She wasn't great or bad at riddles and logic problems, but this one was quite the hard nut to crack.

"I will wait five minutes."

Luxord started laughing, certain of his victory. They didn't need all three of the Keyblader. One would suffice. This was just minimizing the risks.

Kairi just couldn't come up with anything that fit in all categories. Glass, Stone, Flesh, Ice, those were just too different. There must been some trick to that question.

"Four minutes."

Naminè was feeling ill. Not only had she to watch Kairi struggling finding a answer to this ridiculous question, but it was also really frightening to be hold hostage like this. To top it all off, if Kairi couldn't come up with the right answer, she would...

"Two minutes."

What was the answer to that riddle? Wind? Greed? Any other emotion? But then, joy and hate were parts of it, and those are also emotions. An adventure? That could be, but how did this all describe a adventure? And how did one trust in something but doesn't know anything about it? Maybe there wasn't even a right answer to this? Maybe is was a trick question? One with a question as answer?

"One minute."

But if that was the case, what should she do? Leaving Olette would mean that she would die. Attacking without leaving Olette would mean Kairi was too slow. He would kill Naminè. Each way, they couldn't do anything. But what should-

"Time's up. Cards, slice h-"

A odd sound disrupted him speaking. Naminè could feel his grip loosening and seconds after, he fell over, unconscious. Behind him appeared a puzzled looking Jack Sparrow, armed with a wooden paddle. He obviously had knocked him on the head. It was a really odd way to attack such a foe, and Kairi was first confused for a moment, then glad that they had somehow, even though it was luck, escaped his trap.

Naminè ran over to Kairi, a few tears in the eyes, not out of fear but for being happy that Kairi didn't get hurt more than she already was.

"I don't think I've yet have heard a thanks from ye, or any gratitude for my brave act of rescuing this lady," Sparrow said.

Kairi had no time to deal with him. Olette had partially stopped breathing in the meanwhile. The situation got much worse when upstairs started to give off a lot of noise. It seemed that those pirates had one or two things to talk over with Sparrow.

"What was your name? Jack Sparrow? Do you have any means of escape from here?"

Kairi had little choice but to ask him for help. She didn't knew this world, its laws and other things. They were basically aliens here. Sparrow at least seemed to have some association with this ship. He should know a way to escape.

"Ye could swim to the island that's near. But I don't recommend that, as there is naught but-" Jack was cut off by Kairi.

"Naminè, use the strongest Blizzara magic you have and fire it at the stairs. Then use a Firera magic to melt the ice instantly."

Did Kairi lost her mind? Naminè didn't understand the sense of this. If she melt the ice, what good would it do to cast it in the first place? But, after all, it was Kairi that said it. There must been some reason behind it.

Blizzara was a easy spell to cast just randomly at one point. What made it a complicated spell to use was the many many different versions one could summon due to the use of recitations. If a simple ice block was good, then this was really easy.

"Freezing lands that move in the shades!"

Monochrome sent off a at best fist sized ice crystal that slowly flew over to the stairs. As soon as it touched the stairs, a staggering amount of ice grew out of the crystal and blocked the stairs completely.

"Now the fire spell. After you cast, be ready to run for your life. Jack Sparrow, I recommend that you escape as well. That guy over there that you knocked out will not think highly of you. And you don't want him to get mad at you."

Kairi had given him a warning. It was now up to him to escape.

"Ifirt, lend me your lance!"

The same fire lance as before shot across the room, having a unexpected impact at the ice. In seconds, the ice had melted and not only the whole brig was filled with the water mist of the melted ice but it also would engulf most of the upper level of the ship.

They wouldn't be able to capture them like this.

Kairi still carried Olette and now had taken Naminè's hand to prevent losing each other in the mist. Up the stairs, she took a moment to look around. They weren't on deck yet. Which way was the right? Kairi had never seen the inside of this ship before. They could only try and hope the mist would hold a while.

"Over here, this the right way."

That voice belonged to Jack Sparrow. It was hard to guess which direction it came from, but in the end, Kairi found a shadow in the mist that moved down right strange. That must be Sparrow.

Following the shadow close up, Kairi could feel the mist lifting a bit and fresh air a little while later. They must be on deck. Unfortunately, the mist lost its concentration faster than expected. It was a matter of seconds until they would be spotted. Kairi couldn't take the weight of three people. At least Naminè had to hold onto something that could carry her weight. Naminè had told Kairi once that she didn't know how to swim, when Olette told them a story about the beach.

A wooden plank would do, but where to get... But they were on a ship! Kairi kicked without further ado as hard as possible against a part of the rail and as expected, a quite long part of it broke. It was a bit rotten, so it could withstand water and the usual activities of a ship, but not a brutal kick of someone that was running for her life.

"Sparrow! There is Sparrow! And those imbeciles, seize them ye idiots!"

That voice was Barbossa. They had spotted them, and if not now, they won't be able to escape.

Kairi took Naminè's hand, and they jumped together. The water was not cold as expected. And Sparrow was right. The island was about a mile away. Naminè hold onto the wooden plank that was floating into the water. And now of all times, Kairi had to notice a huge mistake. She couldn't swim while carrying Olette. If she were to hold onto the wooden plank, it would sink. It could only hold about one person, and now Kairi had a huge problem. Olette's weight pulled her down, and it was very straining to just keep over water, let alone swimming a mile.

A few meters beside her fell something into the water, and seconds later, Sparrow surfaced.

"I'd recommend that ye ladies swim before those sorry excuses for honorary pirates start firin'," Sparrow said and was about to make a run for it when Kairi hold him back.

"Help me out and we... help you get back your ship," It was the only thing Kairi could think of. She needed his help now and had to lure him with whatever was appropriate.

"Ye ladies helping me getting back my _Pearl_? I do see a profit in this. What do-" Sparrow couldn't finish his line.

Kairi couldn't hold herself up anymore with Olette on her back. Sparrow wasn't a idiot. With a short dive, he took Olette from Kairi, who now surfaced and took a deep breath. They weren't out of danger yet. The first bullets from the pirate's rifles hit the water right next to her. Grabbing the wooden plank and looking after Sparrow who carried Olette, Kairi tried to swim as fast as she could. Naminè had never learned swimming but paddling with her feet was at least helping a little.

"Whaddya doing, ye idiots! After them!" Barbossa angrily shouted.

"I wouldn't recommend that, Captain Barbossa. The longer you wait to grab that treasure, who knows who else Sparrow told of the map or the island? Someone might take advantage of the delay to capture those sore losers."

Luxord couldn't afford to have them all killed by the pirates. At least one had to get away. And on a marooned island, there was no escape for them. It was a bitter taste, after being cheated like that, to do this, but Xemnas would simply behead him if all three of them died.

"Ye have your point. Ye make a fine first mate. Got sense for the important things ain't you."

--Valiant Hearts--

"That was really a long story. Literally," Olette said, by now sitting next to Naminè. "But why did they not follow us?"

"Ask them yourself. Or ask Sparrow," Kairi said, rolling her eyes and pointing towards the other side of the beach.

Olette took a moment to recognize what Kairi was pointing at. Sparrow seemed to lay there, once in a while drinking out of a dirty bottle something.

"He is probably now even more drunk than before. It's been a few hours. Looks to me that Sparrow isn't here for the first time. He left you on the beach and vanished into the little jungle on this island. Apparently looking for something. I have no idea what he is drinking, but it smells really nasty," Kairi explained, leaning back.

"What do we do now, Kairi?"

Naminè had been quiet for a while, and Kairi was relieved that she didn't seem to have any permanent trauma or something from this. It was more a exception that things went such a bad way, but this wasn't the worst Kairi had every experienced.

"Thats a good question..." Kairi answered, looking in the sky.

--Valiant Hearts--

The entrance to the inner cavern of the Isla de la Muerta was the mouth of a vast skull, embedded in the islands rocks. It was a frightening view, but the greed of the pirates was bigger than any fear. They went inside, and the first few jumped in the unnatural icy water, just to swim by themselves to the inside, to be the first that could grab some of the gold pieces inside.

Luxord rubbed the back of his head. He had still a bump from the hit with the plank. He was not important. Xemnas wouldn't complain if he killed him. And yes he would. That damn Jack Sparrow.

They had left the girls and Jack Sparrow on the tiny deserted island a day ago. By this time, they should notice the hunger and thirst one suffers when marooned.

"A fine treasure tis, we found here. Ye ingrates, we're not here to grab leftovers and dinky gold. The map tells there's some mighty treasure inside," Barbossa shouted at the pirates that already crawled on the ground, picking up every gold piece, stashing in every pocket they had.

Luxord was already inside. He was sitting on a huge chest, made of granite, filled to the edge with pure gold amulets. The chest itself was resting on a little mountain of gold and treasure.

Barbossa had led a good dozen of his pirates further inside, leaving the rest to collect whatever they could take and bring it over to the _Black Pearl._

The last room was a big, dark and wet grotto in the heart of the island. Every corner had piles of gold, treasures all over the place, and in the center of all was the chest with the amulets, with Luxord sitting on it.

"Welcome to the true treasure of the Isle de la Muerta," Luxord said, walking down the pile of gold in the center.

"Ye a bit too friendly about this. I smell a rat. Ye ain't playing fool's game with me, mate?" Barbossa's mistrust was awakened.

Why was this man so free about this? No man in this world would be that calm when surrounded by those riches. And yet, this Luxord fellow was amazingly giving in this matter. It was smelling like a trap.

"I don't have any use for gold. My only concern were those three girls, and they've been dealt with. My thanks for that, Captain. The gold is all yours," Luxord defended his behavior. "But when I had to ask for a deal, Captain Barbossa, I assume I would be free to do whatever I want with Jack Sparrow, in case he somehow will escape that island," Luxord asked.

"I doubt that bastard's alive, but if ye find him, you can tear him to pieces," Barbossa responded with a laugh.

That was exactly what Luxord wanted to hear. He had a nice little game for Sparrow in mind. One that would make him wish he would never have meet him.

It still didn't seem quite right to Barbossa. But the sheer treasure before his eyes was blinding him. The pirates had already started plundering the grotto, but none had touched the chest yet. Barbossa would server their hands if they'd touch something like that before him.

"Tis better be no treasure with a hook on it, mate," Barbossa warned and then went off, climbing the pile of gold, looking inside the chest.

A chill went down his spine. Whatever it was, those amulets had a scary feeling about them. The chest was filled up to the rand. Barbossa reached out his hand, taking one of the amulets. The same second he picked one up, a strange feeling went through his body. Touching chest, legs and arms, feeling flesh still on his bones, Barbossa dismissed it as simple side-effect of the excitement.

"Just as I planned," Luxord muttered, walking away while supressing a sadistic laugh.

Quietly opening a portal of darkness, Luxord left, leaving behind a unimaginable mess and chaos. Nobody noticed that two pirates had been missing ever since they had started to explore the cave.

Silently in the darkness, in the shadows of the grotto, something was crawling. And the darkness was engulfing the gold.

--Valiant Hearts--

Luxord was particularly happy in a sadistic way that his plan had been a huge success. The curse would soon show first symptoms. The pirates would curse him, would curse the gold and their greed. It was their own fault. It wasn't he who told him to take the treasure. It was their own greed, the mad longing for gold.

He had found the island they had left Sparrow and the Keyblader. It was small enough to find them soon. There was no escape for them. He had to make sure that at least one of them survived, or Xemnas would take his head.

Only a short while later, Luxord was wondering where they had gone. They couldn't have left the island. The surrounding sea was full of Heartless he had left to roam free there after the _Black Pearl_ had left this god forsaken place.

They must've been somewhere there. It was dark out, so they would probably sleep somewhere. But what if there was one of those annoying portals the Keyblader could use on this island? If they had left the world, to get support? It hardly mattered, but it would delay his plans and anything else.

Still, that pirate Jack Sparrow had to be somewhere. He had searched the ground several times and... the ground! That was it. They must be-

Luxord was taken out of his own thoughts a second later. Another dark portal opened up next to him. It was Saix.

"Xemnas is calling for you. He wanted to see results, not your fooling around here. You will return immediately Luxord," Saix said with his usual cold attitude and waited for Luxord to open his own portal.

They wouldn't run. They couldn't run. Those Keybladers were doomed. There was no escape.

Opening his own gate to the path of darkness, Luxord looked a last time around, mentally swearing that he would get his revenge and fun, and then left through the darkness.

Saix left shortly after. Xemnas had been very displeased. Not a single heart had been collected since Luxord started his mission and over two weeks had went by. He would be lucky if the Superior only punished him.

Xigbar was sitting on a balcony, far above the crosspoint of the dark paths the Organization had used to build their headquarters around. Luxord would appear any moment. Saix never took too long to finish his missions. Unlike Luxord, Saix didn't play and fool around, he came right to the point all the time. That was the reason Xigbar couldn't use him.

A dark portal, it was the gambler indeed, appeared on the platform, and a troubled looking Luxord came right out of it.

Xigbar lost no time and teleported down, next to the blonde. There was no saying what would happen to him when the Superior found out that Luxord had been fooling around with some humans. The man with the eye-patch had his own spies on the back of every Organization member. Xemnas's goal surely was important, but there were things beneath that. And Xemnas didn't see that. Marluxia had taken the wrong approach and acted too soon.

"I need to speak with you." Xigbar was unusually friendly. He never talked much to most of the members.

"What do you want Xigbar? The Superior is waiting for me and I'd rather not have him waiting longer than necessary," Luxord was torn between listening and just walking away. If Xigbar wanted to talk, it had to be important.

"I know of your little, let me say, dispute with the Keybladers. I have a bill with one of them too. Xemnas might be right about collecting the hearts, but we can't endanger the Organization. Look at what happened to Marluxia and his pawns. They're not a force to leave aside like this."

Xigbar had his points. It was true, the Keybladers themselves weren't the real problem. If the whole group of those pests from Hollow Bastion would attack them again, it could well cost him his life. Luxord decided to listen to what the scar face had to say.

"I had insight in some of the studies of Xemnas's Somebody." That came out of the blue. Luxord didn't even know who Xemnas's Somebody was. Xigbar really knew what he was doing if he found out that much.

"So? Anything interesting? A new kind of card game maybe, that you talk to me?" Luxord had to stay guarded. Whatever Xigbar was suggesting, if he was doing it behind the back of the Superior, it was very dangerous.

"You know how we're created, don't you." Xigbar slowly walked around him, almost literally whispering poison for Luxord's mind. He couldn't resist the urge to know, and Xigbar apparently knew it.

"Of course I do. I don't have to be reminded of that by the likes of you," Luxord responded rather unpleased.

"So, I assume you're also aware that most of your physical abilities are taken from our somebodies. The books I've read so far affirmed that."

Xigbar was avoiding the main point like a mouse the trap. But he still wanted the cheese, and in this case, Luxord had fallen right into the trap.

"What is your point? I already know that much. We all do. Zexion didn't research Nobodies for nothing." The gambler was starting to get annoyed. By now, he could already have meet Xemnas and finished his report.

"What do you think would happen if one of those Hollow Bastion plagues would create a Nobody? Or even better, one of the Keybladers?"

Luxord could literally feel Xigbar smiling. It was a disgusting and abhorrent feeling. It wasn't right to smile with that face. But indeed, what would happen to them?

"If they can fight us at equal level as humans, imagine how powerful their Nobodies could be. Xemnas's plan might be to of great importance to us, but what after we accomplished that task? What beyond that? Wouldn't we need to strive for even greater power?" Xigbar continued.

For a moment, Luxord could smell the reek of malice and betrayal. But what Xigbar said infiltrated his head, confused his thoughts. Yes, what was beyond that point?

"But how do you want to make them into Nobodies? It isn't so simple. I assume you've already thought on something, don't you?"

He was interested. Yes, this could prove to be the greatest game ever. This wasn't betraying Xemnas like Marluxia attempted to. This was much better.

Xigbar's thoughts were roaring in laughter. He hadn't even told Luxord that the Nobody of one of those Keybladers should theoretically be able to wield a Keyblade. There was no need to rely on enemy force to have their plan succeed. It was so simple, yet, Xemnas hadn't given it the benefit of a thought. Or did he simply don't know?

"Just having their hearts stolen by a Heartless won't work. What if the body is taken away too? Nothing left to form their Nobody? But whatever the Somebody of the Superior studied, he came up with a experimental way to create artificial Heartless. I just looked into that and used some of Zexion's old records and I found something very interesting."

Xigbar's smile wasn't just disgusting anymore. It was shining with disaster and chaos, and for a split second, the gambler was scared of this man.

"What did you find Xigbar?"

He couldn't supress the urge to ask. It was impossible. Not after all Xigbar had said.

"Heartless and Nobodies are both created by and from humans and their heart. The process to create a Heartless is easy. The process for a lesser Nobody just as much. But what we're longing for is a method to create high level Nobodies of those people."

Again, he avoided the question, rambling on with some secret knowledge he gained. But whatever Xigbar said, it made sense to Luxord. His thoughts were poisoned by this game, the risk, the tension and the possible outcome. It was all in the air.

"What now, if I would hold the knowledge to create a high level Nobody from someone's body without involving the Heartless in the process"

For a moment, Luxord's thoughts stopped. It took him a moment to comprehend the possible options such knowledge would bare.

"I still need to test the process, but anyone of considerable power will suffice. Bring me one of them," Xigbar emitted in this moment the same aura the superior had. There was a clear difference in power between them, but Luxord couldn't refuse this temptation.

"Soon," he answered.

Minutes later, trying to disguise any excitement, Luxord walked straight into Xemnas's private quarters. The superior was standing right in the middle of the hall, his face digress from the gambler.

He didn't feel the need to kneel or anything. His plans in that world were about to add up, and if he told Xemnas that he was right in time, then-

He couldn't finish his thoughts. Immediately when he stopped walking, the superior had shoot a ball of energy against his chest, sending him flying across the whole hall.

"I could be wrong, but didn't I assign you the mission to bring chaos to a world and collect more hearts, Luxord?" Xemnas was obviously very displeased.

"And that I did. The hearts will come soon, more than you could ever imagine, Superior. My plan is about to enter it's final phase. That world will provide us with a never seen amount of hearts, and I even got all three of the Keyblader trapped-" Luxord was disrupted again.

Xemnas had hit him, smashed Luxord against a wall, robbing him his breath.

"I had ordered you to collect hearts, not play games. You will bring me hearts immediately Luxord. I will not tolerate failure."

With that said, he let the man go, turning around, repeating his warning.

"I will not tolerate failure."

Slowly walking away, vanishing into the shadows of his private quarters, his gaze flew up to the ever pitch black sky. Soon, his plan would succeed.

Luxord was angry by all means. Even though he knew the Superior had him let off easily, it had been unnecessary to punish him.

All this was the fault of that man. That pirate. And those girls. He would get his revenge. Soon, very soon.

"It will be a game good enough to die for."

The last words echoed through the room.

"Good enough to die for."

He didn't know that there was someone else that was playing games.

--Valiant Hearts--

"This has proven most useful. And it is just the peak of the pile. I need to know more... much more."

The room was Zexion's former laboratory. There were notes and records laying everywhere. His latest research had been the about the very nature of the Nobodies' self. Where they came from, how they came to exist, the rumor of the unflawed Nobody, where they went to when their existence faded and much more.

There was one piece of information that was most useful. No, it was even beyond it. If it was true what there was written, they already held the key to unlimited power in their hands.

Reiterating the words out loud once, he looked at the record, asking himself if there was a limit to being lucky.

"A Nobody doesn't die. He only fades."

End of Chapter IX

Author note: I'm looking for someone that's gifted with Art design and photoshop or some other CG program. If one of you would happen to be experienced with such things, I'd like you to message me on .


	10. Loneliness, I and the Sunset

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter X

_Loneliness, I and the Sunset_

The sun was almost setting when the three girls finished exploring the deserted island. Nothing but small animals and a lot of wild fruit were present. At least they wouldn't face hunger soon. But much more important and grave was the fact that there was no Keyhole portal as they had hoped. Kairi, Olette and Naminè were trapped on the island, and there didn't seem to be any possibility of getting away other than through a gateway.

"I think we can at least say this: we're stuck and have no idea how to get out of here."

Kairi stated the obvious, but it wasn't really helping. In such moments, she had to keep a clear mind for the sake of the others. In such a situation, she had to stay calm. Surprisingly, Naminè wasn't as scared as Kairi had thought. And Olette, if she indeed was scared, didn't show it openly.

For now, they had neither a way to escape from this island nor from this world. It was only logical to assume that the number of problems wouldn't increase any further. First off was to secure water and food, of which the latter was a easy matter, as the island was full of fruit and palms. For water, beside the water of the vast ocean, there wasn't any source of matter on the tiny island. Kairi had once made the mistake of drinking salt water from the ocean. It was not fit to be drunk. Maybe they could use some—

Kairi was ripped out of her thoughts. Sparrow, the former captain of the Black Pearl, had walked up to Olette and had just given her a nip of the contents of a bottle he was holding. The brunette coughed immediately and her face turned more red by the second.

"What is in that bottle?" Kairi asked, demanding a answer.

Sparrow stood up, leaving Olette, who was even more confused now, where she was and walked over to where Kairi was standing.

"This, girl, is some of the finest and best swill you'll ever find across the seas. Each 'n every pirate would sell 'is own mother for a bottle of this," Sparrow mumbled.

The pirate was drunk on the bright day. And whatever was in that dirty bottle, it wasn't good for the girls to drink.

"Olette, stop that. It tickles too much," Naminè said, which got Kairi's attention. The blond girl was being hugged by Olette, who was nibbling on Naminè's ear.

"Don't you dare give them any more alcohol. I'm not trusting you yet," Kairi said.

"That's some mean thing to say. Didn' I save yer pretty friend? But 'tis the fate of a good ol' honorary pirate. Always the ingrates I get, I tell ye," Sparrow responded, more or less, and walked over to the beach to lay down and drown himself in more of the weird swill.

It took Kairi a moment to separate Olette and Naminè. While one had been constantly giggling, the other was slightly confused by the odd behaviour. That's right, Naminè didn't know what alcohol was, nor what it did to otherwise completely fine people. But Olette, having had a normal life for about sixteen years, was bound to know. At least, that was what Kairi had been thinking. But to give someone injured alcohol wasn't the brightest of all ideas.

"Kairi, don't be a prude. I was just teasing her a little bit," Olette said, in a voice that implied Sparrow wasn't the only person here who was drunk.

They had to get Olette back to her senses, and fast. Kairi didn't know when the sun was going to set, nor how cold it got at night in this world. Not to mention that sleeping out wasn't the brightest idea, considering that the Organization was still after them.

Pulling Olette along, Kairi got her close enough to the ocean to just sprinkle some water on her face. It had little to no effect. Olette's face had turned bright red from whatever Sparrow had given her.

"Okay, I bet she is going to complain later, but we need Olette in a sober state if we want avoid sleeping out under the sky today. And I really want to avoid being found by those pirates, in case they come back. Help me to get her into the water, Naminè."

It was a bad habit to be overly careful, but Kairi didn't know anything about this world or about the pirates or the member of the Organization. It felt like things couldn't get any worse.

"Kairi, shouldn't we ask Sparrow for help? He looks like he knows this island and we don't."

That much was obvious, but Kairi didn't want to rely on a drunken former pirate ship captain. "We don't know anything about him. Sure, he helped us to escape, but he really doesn't look like he is very reliable."

Kairi wanted to get out of this misery on her own. "On her own" meant not relying on others, proving that she wasn't just an accessory from the Hollow Bastion gang. Naminè and Olette were new to this, but they managed themselves better than Kairi had in her first missions.

Naminè had noticed that Kairi was a bit more timid around Aerith and Tifa. It wasn't so odd when she reminded herself that those two were like parents to the redhead. But it did look like Kairi's mood always hit rock bottom when the topic changed to missions in other worlds.

From the argument they had at the evening of the night they left, Naminè could only guess that Kairi wanted to show her parents that she was able to do things on her own. Aside from the natural affection she bore for Kairi, this was one of the things that attracted her. The will to stand up for her own mind's decision, and the power to go through with that very decision. There were other things too, but Naminè couldn't really grasp what they were.

A not-so-elegant and mighty splash later, Olette was dripping wet, but at least she had come back to her senses.

"My head is spinning," Olette grumbled, and held the very same to make it stop.

"Sparrow gave you some of his whatever-it-was. I'm not sure if it was in good intent, either," Kairi replied, and walked over to help Olette up.

"My whole throat is burning, my head is spinning, and I swear, if he ever comes near me with a bottle, I'm going to hit him with the Hero's Crest right on the head," the more or less drunk girl mumbled.

It took a while for Olette to be able to walk without stumbling every so few steps. Kairi had checked the island. It was roughly a few hundred feet long and about as wide, in the middle a collection of palms and other things. There were plenty of wild fruit and coconuts. Water was now a urgent matter, but even that was resolved rather easily. Naminè had seen Sparrow vanishing between the palms, and just a bit later, they had found a trap door in the ground that led to an underground hideout.

For whom, and by whom, that didn't matter at the moment. The ridiculous amount of alcohol aside, there were other things they could drink, although only very little of what they found had any labels. Most of the bottles were identified by sniff and test, which inevitably led to three slightly primed girls.

At least they had found a resolution to the problems of water and a place to sleep. It was very smelly down there, though, and it was basically impossible to breathe for a short time period without coughing, so they started moving most of the (for the three girls) worthless alcohol out of the hideout. Sparrow didn't protest, as it saved him from having to go down the stairs into the mouldy underground to get another bottle.

In the middle of all that chaos, Kairi had stopped working and looked at the ground. This was definitely the worst mission and situation she had ever been in.

"Missions usually don't go this badly. I just wanted you two to know that I will get you two home, no matter what happens to me. It's me who got you into this mess, and--" Kairi was brutally cut off by Olette, who took Kairi's hand. It was wrong to take all the blame for herself.

"We went along on our own decision. It's not your fault. And you don't have to do this on your own. At least let me help you, Kairi. I'm sure I won't be..."

Olette knew this scenario. Someone didn't manage to go through with what they had planned and was about to give up midway. That someone always ended up relying on her, or wanting her to help. And Olette would always give it, no matter how she felt about it. She feared no one would respect her if she didn't. It had always been like that. Even Hayner and Pence only acknowledged her after she showed to be a natural in struggle. Now that same tired scenario would repeat here with Kairi. It would be just the same. People only liked her because she was good with many things. If she were just a normal girl, nobody would care.

"I know you want to help, but it already helps that you're here, that I'm not alone. For now, that's more than enough for me." And Kairi freed her hand and continued to put away the bottles.

It was a shock for Olette. No one had ever denied her help before. Or even wanted to not rely on her, to do things on their own. Was it because Kairi had gone through a lot of horrible things? Was she scared to rely on others? Whatever it was, this feeling was pleasant but strange. Olette felt that it was weird to look back at her, now that she knew that Kairi didn't rely on her. Was she just stubborn? Unable to accept there was someone that didn't want or need her help? For now, all she could think of, was that this had left a nice feeling inside her. Was Kairi special? Someone Olette could rely on?

Time went by much faster than they thought it would. According to Sparrow, they were in a southern sea, on which the nights are short and the days hot and long. That meant most of the time they would immediately know when a ship was coming.

The girls moved a few old wooden boxes and cases into a corner of the basement and used the cloths that protected the boxes inside from dust to get by in the cold of the night. They helped, even though the cloths were rather thin and dusty. To provide a bit more warmth, they slept close to each other.

Kairi had first been against that, simply because she already knew that Naminè wasn't likely to just lie there. Olette was immediately annoyed when Naminè came up with the idea and refused to say anything. She was still in distress over that. Was she simply annoyed by how natural Naminè acted about this or was there something else?

By the time they finished the emergency cleaning of the basement, the sun was setting. It was getting cooler by the moment, but it was still warm enough to run around in much less than they usually wore. Kairi left the basement to look for something to eat, and Olette went with her, leaving Naminè at the entry of the hideout to watch for Sparrow. Kairi didn't trust him.

Olette wanted to say something about earlier. It was eating her up from the inside, and her head was feeling funny. But the words didn't want to flow. After a few fruits and coconuts, it was the redhead that started talking.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I...just want to do this on my own. I'm not a little kid that can't do anything by herself. Nor are you, that's not what I'm saying. But this is my fault, no matter how you arrange the pieces. I'm...usually not this talkative. I don't know, it just feels like I can talk to you about anything."

Kairi didn't stop walking and picked up another fruit. It was almost enough for the three. Tomorrow, they would have to come up with a plan how to escape from the island.

"I don't think it's your fault alone. You're not responsible for everything and anything alone, Kairi. Deep down, you're just another girl, like I am. The Keyblade has chosen you, but that doesn't change the fact that you have weaknesses and emotions like everyone else. No Keyblade will change that," Olette responded.

She stopped walking and looked to the sky. She was right. Kairi was just another girl. Even though she traveled through worlds and had to fight those things. It didn't change the fact that she had feelings, dreams and fears too. It was only now that Olette fully comprehended what Kairi had gone through. All this Keyblade business must have kept her from all those things.

For Kairi, that was one weird thing to hear. 'Just another girl'. It was like someone was directly looking inside her, past the Keyblader, past all the responsibility, past the mission. Kairi was often thinking how her life would have been like if the Heartless had never come. If she hadn't been the chosen of the Keyblade. The thought of a normal life wasn't so bad. But that would also mean she never would have met Aerith, Tifa, Leon and all the others.

Olette didn't seem to just look at her like everyone else (Naminè aside) did. For them, for everyone back in Hollow Bastion, she was first the Chosen and then a girl. For her, for Olette, it seemingly didn't matter that she was a Keyblader. For Olette, she was just a ordinary girl. Up until now, Kairi didn't really look that closely at Olette. Naminè was the one who really captured her attention with her behaviour and mysterious relation. Olette had none of that. She was the most normal Keyblader out of the three. But somehow, it was good that way. It felt like she could let loose a bit with her around.

"-- back?"

Kairi was ripped from her world of thoughts. Olette must have been talking for a while, since the brunette was looking rather curiously at her.

"Did you say something?"

Kairi had to admit, she wasn't there with full concentration. Not only was this mission one of the worst ever, but she had problems of her own to attend to. Naminè was one. But at least Kairi knew she could talk to Olette. A strange comparison, but for Kairi, Olette was like a secret diary in that one could write anything, that one could share its dreams with. Olette had a life that Kairi envied her. A ordinary one, up to when the Keyblade destroyed her peaceful life too.

"I said, should we go back? The sun is setting and we should have enough for today and tomorrow morning."

Kairi walked next to her, every so often looking out of the corner of her eye at the so normal and yet not normal girl. It was a bit weird how she could find someone who was the closest to a normal person she had ever known that interesting. Olette didn't seem to notice, but she smiled all the way back for some unknown reason.

They got back at dusk and Naminè was waiting for their arrival. The load of fruits was put into a previously emptied basket. Due to the lack of dining utensils, they had to resort to more or less funny methods.

Olette cut the fruits. With her Circle of Life Keyblade. It was quite a disaster of fruit juice and leftovers on the ground until she got used to only cutting and not using her full strength. Tifa's training seemed to have had quite an effect. Naminè was to cook them and freeze the leftovers. Fire and Ice magic were easy to use, and Kairi could have done it too, but Naminè had better control of the spells due to her ability to use recitations. Some fruits, however, ended up as charcoal and some just died upon the flash freeze. Kairi had to make the best out of what was left over after the disastrous cutting exercise and the burning or freezing.

"It tastes...interesting," Olette said, and her facial expression said more than thousand words.

"It smells funny," Naminè said, poking the fruits with a little stick that served as fork.

"I wonder if I would choose this over Tifa's curry," Kairi said, and with a unpleasant expression, she ate whatever it was they had cooked up. There was a severe lack of words to describe things like that. And it was good that way.

"We'll keep watch in groups of two. Olette went with me and collected fruit, so she can take the first sleep from us. Where is that Sparrow fellow anyway? If he comes near this hideout, don't let him in," Kairi instructed, and left immediately later.

Olette held Naminè, who was about to just run after Kairi like a loyal dog, back for a moment.

"You didn't forget what you promised, yes?" Olette didn't know why she reminded Naminè of that in this moment. Was she feeling a bit jealous about being left in the basement? Or was she just being mean to the girl in white?

Naminè just smiled. After Olette let her go, she quickly left the hideout and went after Kairi, who was standing just a few meters away.

"In six hours, you can go to sleep and Olette will switch positions with you. You and Olette can take the last part together. That way everyone gets enough sleep for the moment," Kairi said when Naminè had caught up.

"Okay. But what is keeping watch? What do we do?" Naminè asked the question Kairi was waiting for.

"We look after the hideout and make sure that no one enters and that no Heartless come onto the island. We have to keep our eyes open for the Organization member too. I'm sure he'll come back once he finishes his business with the pirates."

That was enough of a explanation for Naminè. In short, she had to stay awake and look after the island. In the meantime, she got to spend time with Kairi, just the two of them. It wouldn't hurt if she clung to her just a bit. Maybe it would help the redhead to relax a little.

For the first couple of minutes, Kairi was busy with looking around, making sure that she hadn't overlooked anything. In a situation like this, it was important to keep a keen watch.

She startled and immediately summoned Oathkeeper when Naminè laid a hand on hers. Kairi was clearly on a end with her nerves. Taking all the blame for this whole thing was definitely something that surpassed her limits.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a bit nervous. We don't know when the enemy will lead his next attack, and --" Kairi sighed.

Explaining all that to Naminè seemed a little bit pointless. It was not that she didn't understand. But the fact that Naminè could stay that calm made Kairi feel a bit stupid. And maybe she was right. Was Kairi taking all this too seriously? The Organization had not shown any interest in them after they had become stranded on the island.

"The sun here looks almost like the dusk sky over Hollow Bastion," Naminè said, and walked in direction of the beach.

When Kairi glanced over at the sun, her eyes immediately became glued to the view. Naminè, walking towards the ocean, the sun shining against her, and the warm wind blowing created a really special atmosphere.

It was weird. Kairi had never really cared for these aspects of life. Or rather, she couldn't, up until now. The view was amazing, and before she knew it, Kairi had joined Naminè in her walk to the beach.

They walked next to each other, each once in a while glancing over at the other, feeling the wind in their hair, the warm sun of the dusk on their skin, and the presence of a familiar person by their side.

It had been a long time since Kairi just enjoyed walking on white sand simply because she wanted to and not in order to fight, not to comply with all the expectations people had of her. The last time she had done this had been on the Destiny Islands.

Naminè stopped walking and knelt down, running sand through her hands. Everything was new to her, as she didn't know anything but what she had learned from her dreams. But the feeling of this, the feeling of being here with her, was something she could never have learned from just illusions and dreams.

"Say, Kairi...how long do people keep being friends? You won't disappear, right? This isn't just another dream, and when I wake up, I will be back in that white castle, and --"

Before Naminè could finish, Kairi knelt next to her and took her hand. Naminè didn't look sad. It was more like she had her own worries. Kairi never had thought about that, simply because Naminè didn't seem to be the type to worry overly much.

"I won't just disappear. And you won't either. This is real. You can feel my hand, can't you? That is proof this isn't just a dream," Kairi said.

With a smile on her lips, Naminè got closer and finally leaned against the redhead. She didn't let go of Kairi's hand, the proof that this was not a dream. It was stupid, but she couldn't help but think that once she let go, it would become a dream again. Even though she was basically untouched by the problems of normal people, she had grave ones of her own.

Kairi didn't mind. Not in the slightest. It could have been the atmosphere or her overworked mind, but she freed her hand and embraced Naminè. She sat behind her, able to smell her hair, her scent, able to closely feel her skin. It was completely different from the forced relationship they had before.

"You're warm. Much warmer than before," Naminè said, leaning further back.

"You think so? It might be the sun," Kairi responded, still holding the girl. She took another deep breath.

"Not that. Your feelings are much warmer. You don't have to be cold, Kairi."

Naminè freed herself from the embrace to turn around and take place on Kairi's knees, looking directly in her face.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm not --" Kairi knew. She knew what Naminè meant and the lie she wanted to spout had been confirmed by those eyes inside her. She just couldn't lie to her.

"I...will try. I can't promise anything," Kairi said, slightly sighing. She had been avoiding all that she was experiencing right now. It would be a hindrance on missions, and that was all she had cared about in the past.

"That is good enough." Naminè gave her another smile and clung even closer now, returning the embrace, dangerously close to Kairi's face.

It was Kairi who started blushing upon her advance. Naminè did these things as if they were the most normal acts in the world. Kairi envied her.

"You're awful close, Naminè...didn't we want...to stay just friends...?" The words came slowly and with hesitation. A voice in her head, the one of reason, was screaming for her to stop, but her body wouldn't listen.

It was a strange feeling. Really pleasant, but awfully wrong at the same time. And yet Kairi didn't want to stop. This was a first for her, and she didn't want to devote her life to the Keyblade mission for all eternity. In her own eyes, Kairi was first a girl, a teenager, and _then_ the—no, _one_ of the three Chosen of the Keyblade.

"Don't friends share their dreams with each other? Their feelings? Isn't that what makes us truly friends?" Naminè could feel Kairi's warmth, could feel her chest moving under her breath, going faster by the second.

"That's the line between lovers and friends...I think." Kairi wasn't so sure of that in the moment.

It was hard for Kairi to keep a clear mind. The whole situation was literally breathtaking. Her heartbeat was going faster than even in the most difficult battle, and Kairi could not remember when she had ever been so nervous.

"It's like I'm looking into my own eyes."

"Then you're looking into beautiful eyes." Naminè really was a natural at smooth-talking.

Naminè really knew when to say such things. Either it was just instinct or being natural, Kairi couldn't stand it any longer. She looked at the ground and her face turned a deep red in seconds.

"Your face is all red."

"That's the sun." Kairi could _feel_ that she was blushing.

"My face is not red." Naminè had a little smirk on her face upon saying this.

"But it should be!"

Kairi lift her head and looked directly into Naminè's eyes. She was so close that a few strands of blond hair tickled Kairi's face. Her face was not red. It was so unfair, and yet, Kairi couldn't blame her.

"You're cheating."

"How so?" The blond girl giggled as Kairi turned her head away in embarrassment.

"Because you aren't..." Kairi was almost whispering to herself.

"I can't hear you."

Kairi was still taken by her presence. She was like a completely different being. No tactical planning, no calm and calculating mind, no fears of other people. Naminè was like a key to her inner side, to a side she had long sealed away in order to survive the harsh life of the Keyblader. But maybe it was time to open that lock. Maybe a bit. A little bit. Just to take a peek at what was beyond.

"Say...why do you like me?"

Kairi had wanted to ask that ever since Naminè had first shown her affection to her. There was apparently no reason for it. If it was only for showing up in that castle, it really didn't matter that it was her. But if there was something else...

"At first, I didn't know. Even now I don't even know why. But you're strong. I know I can depend on you. I trust you. And you protect me, don't you? I think...I like that part about you. The strong-willed Kairi, the Kairi that can protect me. But I like the other side of you too."

Kairi never knew that Naminè could be so profound. She had anticipated a simple answer. Not knowing what to think about this, Kairi took it as compliment. If there was one thing real, then it was Naminè's affection for her.

"The sun is about to vanish. You won't vanish, right, Kairi?" Naminè leaned her forehead against Kairi's and waited for her to respond.

"No. I won't."

The response was different to anything Kairi had anticipated. Naminè pulled herself closer in an instant and after seconds or hours, Kairi couldn't tell, she felt the blonde's soft lips on her own.

The kiss was amateurish, as they were inexperienced, but in this moment, both of them felt like they were in heaven.

Naminè was being demure and waited for Kairi to return the kiss. It only took her a instant to do so.

This was different. Not only did Kairi grasp a much better feeling of it, but there was something else inside her that started to move. It was like a wave, something that wanted to burst out. A immense feeling, but Kairi didn't care. All that important was right in front of her.

Kairi could feel a urge to go further, to make one more step. It was completely overwhelming and everything seemed just to be right now. Burying her hands in the flaxen hair, Kairi deepened the kiss and could feel Naminè responding to it as she laid her arms around her.

Just when Kairi wanted to continue all that was she was doing, a most awful feeling walled up. Nothing like guilt or blame—it was more like a hunch of something terrible.

Scared like a mouse, Kairi jumped back. Naminè fell over in the sand as Kairi tried to get back to her senses. The last seconds had been more than just strange, but the kiss wasn't the problem.

Kairi had seen pictures of Naminè's mind. Inside the white castle. Being tortured. A red-haired man. Kairi was so agitated that it was several seconds before she noticed Naminè was still lying on the ground.

---Valiant Hearts---

Where is she? This island. Those people. She has seen them before. But there are neither names nor faces for those people. Shortly after, darkness walls over the sky. The island is being devoured by darkness, by the creatures called Heartless.

The images fade away, showing a town with a ever-dark sky. A feeling of duty, one of a immeasurable size. The urge to escape, to run away, fear. Whose feelings are those?

The images fade again, drifting in darkness. Soon, a town in the desert, the feeling of guilt. Soon it changes to a different place. A vast ocean, a ship, disappointment and despair. Yet again, only seconds pass until the image fades. There is nothing but darkness. No emotion. No hope. The empty darkness is icy and empty. A light tries to reach the path that is there, in the absolute darkness, but fails. Again, the urge to run away. The scattered belief in oneself.

Time goes by and slowly, the darkness lifts, just to show what fears are made of. The death of a star, the end of yet another world. A dark night sky, star-studded. One star falls, the next follows. The images rotate. They show the ground, blood and tears. They let one feel the bitter truth of failure, and then the night sky again, empty as the shadows.

Only to fade once more, the images change again. Nightmare, the ultimate test for courage. The feeling of mistrust, of jealousy and of hate. A world that is not one. A ruin of that what was once a kingdom. The door to the heart of darkness. Infinite cold beyond. No way back. The fear for one's life. And yet, a shimmer of light, of bliss and ease after the darkness is past.

Lastly, a shivered image of a white door, immense and powerful, and two people. The same people that were on the island, in the first image. A arm is stretched out, the light of a Keyblade roars through the air, tears fall and hope is crushed yet again. Falling on knees, screaming out to the vanishing door, screaming out how unjust fate is.

The last image fades and nothing but darkness is left.

---Valiant Hearts---

"...up!"

Someone was calling. The last thing she could remember was darkness.

"Naminè, wake up!"

Kairi was calling. Did she fall asleep? Was all that a dream?

She opened her eyes to see Kairi right above her, Naminè's head laid on her lap. Kairi wasn't making any effort to hide the fact that she was worried sick.

"You were passed out for almost half a hour. I was about to carry you to the hideout and ask Olette for help. What happened? Right...before you passed out, I...I think I saw some images of your past."

That was not as shocking as what Naminè had experienced. A flood of images and memories had gone through her, something much bigger than all of her own memories together. It had been frightening. Naminè didn't move; she tried to catch her breath. It felt like the whole island was ice cold, cold as the darkness that had been the last image.

"I saw your past too."

Those words hit Kairi like lightning. Her past was full of horrible things. Most horrible things. She didn't want anyone to know what happened back there. Nobody should know. Kairi wanted those memories sealed away.

"It is time for Olette to switch with you. You should get some sleep."

Kairi was back to the cold tactician. She helped Naminè up and turned away, only showing her back in the darkness. The sun had completely vanished.

"I'd like to forget tonight. I think that is the best."

That wasn't a plea. It felt like a command. A cold command, one that a officer gives a foot soldier. Kairi was, deep down, infinitely scared of the thought that Naminè had seen her past. The present was bad as it was, with the Organization now posing a new threat. But someone who could stir up her past was definitely not good.

"Kairi, I think—" Naminè wasn't able to finish her sentence.

"I'm going to patrol the beach. Wake up Olette."

And Kairi vanished in the shadows of the night.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette was worried. She had never seen Naminè like that. It was as if Kairi had vanished or something.

She had only slept a few hours. Her whole body was aching, her head still slightly spinning from that day. Maybe fresh air would do her good. But first, she had to find out what happened to Naminè.

"I'm just tired."

Naminè didn't want to talk about it. True, Kairi had wanted to kiss her, she even went along with it, but what happened after that was definitely not her fault. It was wrong to blame her, and it was wrong for Kairi to act like that. It wouldn't help to tell Olette.

Naminè went to sleep, but it was not peaceful. It was the first time ever that Olette saw Naminè so miserable.

It was too early to blame Kairi, but it couldn't be a coincidence that Naminè was like that after being alone with the redhead.

It was pitch black out and it took Olette a few minutes to find Kairi, who was sitting on the beach, glazing on the dark horizon.

"You look tired."

Kairi startled and immediately went up, rubbing her eyes and trying to keep a poker face. It failed so miserably that Olette was a bit scared that the usually that strong-willed Kairi was like that. Just what had happened when those two were alone?

"I-I...oh, never mind." Kairi didn't know how to act. Maybe she should just tell Olette, or keep it a secret, but at this rate, she would break out in tears any moment and there was little choice but to tell her anyway.

"Calm down, Kairi." Olette took her hand but Kairi immediately pulled hers back.

Olette tried it once again, trying to help her, and again Kairi tried to break free. This time she failed. The brunette was a lot stronger than she was, even more so in her current state.

When Kairi had no choice but to admit defeat, she began to calm down a bit. It was a surprise, but Kairi leaned against Olette, hoping for comfort.

It had been ages since something happened that agitated her that much. She just didn't know how to deal with this alone.

For Olette, this was not what she had hoped for. She had only wanted to talk with her, not comfort her on this level. But before she knew it, Olette had laid both her arms around Kairi and, standing like that, pulled her closer.

At some point, denying the obvious was just being ignorant or a dreamer. Olette had to admit that it felt good, holding Kairi like that. It was a little sad that Olette had to admit this to herself while Kairi was in such a bad state.

"Will you tell me what happened with Naminè?" Olette never knew she could ask like that. Soothing and nice. Not forceful, but not allowing a 'no'. It was even more surprising that Kairi nodded and came even closer.

Olette could feel her breath on her skin. She got immediately goosebumps and her heart was racing. To what extent did she like Kairi? Was is just the urge to comfort her because Kairi wanted her to, or did Olette herself want this as well? She didn't know.

"We... kissed."

Olette could have guessed about as much, but to hear it firsthand wasn't as pleasant as she had imagined. It was hard not to push her away, but Olette kept holding her. It was a mix of feelings.

'Why Naminè and why now?' It was the first thing Olette was thinking. Didn't Kairi want to keep her at an arm's length for the time being? Olette even gave her advice on the matter. And most important, what should she do now?

"So? I guess she forced that on you, right?"

That was the logical guess for Olette, and in the moment, it felt ridiculously good to blame Naminè for the state Kairi was in. Was that jealousy? Envy?

"It's complicated..."

Olette had different ideas as to what Kairi meant and none of them were especially pleasant now that she knew for sure that she had a interest on Kairi, or girls in general. Which of them, Olette couldn't tell yet.

"I'm listening."

Kairi took a deep breath and stepped away from Olette. She turned around and got back to her position, sitting in the sand, as she had been when Olette arrived. Of course the other girl wouldn't just stand by when Kairi was about to possibly break out in tears again. Seconds later, Olette sat right next to the redhead, but not looking on her face.

"I can't really explain it, but while we kissed, _it_ happened."

Olette didn't understand. What was _it_? This was just another unpleasant thing to hear. Naminè was a friend, but if Olette found out that Naminè had forced something on Kairi, then...

"It was like...we saw each other's pasts. There wasn't much in Naminè's, and I was just seconds later back to my senses...but Naminè was out for almost half a hour. I don't know how much she saw, but my past is definitely nothing I want anyone to see."

Olette didn't understand. It was weird that someone as strong-minded as Kairi was so overly sensitive about some mistakes in the past. Also, it didn't look like that was the whole reason. From the little time Olette knew Kairi, she could tell that the redhead was tending to keep a lot of things to herself.

"I guess that's not all. I bet you're hiding something."

It wasn't all, and it really was bugging Kairi, but to tell Olette wasn't really pleasant.

"No, really, that's all."

"Am I that untrustworthy?" Olette knew that something was bugging Kairi. She was also curious what had happened aside from the kiss. It was bugging her, too.

Even though nothing much had changed, Kairi felt that there was little choice but to believe in Olette. During the time Naminè had passed out, Kairi had thought a bit about several things.

"Am I weird?" Kairi couldn't look at Olette. Instead, she looked at the ground.

That came, for Olette, out of nowhere. What did she mean? Of course it was weird to travel through worlds and have a Keyblade, but that wasn't what she was talking about.

"I mean...yeah, I did give in to the kiss. It...wasn't bad. I...think I liked it. That's weird, isn't it?" Kairi really seemed worried about this.

That was the talk of someone who would find oneself guilty anyway, regardless what was being said. One of Olette's friends was like that.

"I don't know...sure, liking another girl isn't really the most normal thing on earth, but...look, you live with Aerith and Tifa and—" Olette couldn't finish her line, Kairi butted in.

"Tifa and Aerith are different. This isn't anything like with those two."

Olette was a bit annoyed that Kairi just cut her off like that, but that was to be expected from someone who was a emotional wreck.

"I never thought about liking a girl before..."

"I don't think there is anything wrong with liking a girl, Kairi."

Olette could feel that this conversation was slowly but steadily slipping out of her control.

"I just gave in to her. Just like that. I didn't really think twice about it. And I thought I really had willpower..."

"I don't know. Are you sure Naminè didn't force it on you? I mean...maybe you only think you gave in, when she really—"

Kairi stopped Olette midway. It hadn't been like that.

"No, really. If I had resisted, she would have stopped. I think."

"So...maybe there was something else? I heard from Tifa that you aren't really hanging out with people your age. I guess your body finally demanded some comfort. If it is only that, you can come to me. I won't force anything on you, just because you're vulnerable."

Maybe it was the truth, maybe not. Neither Kairi nor Olette knew for sure.

"Thanks. I...will come back for that offer."

Olette was sure that there was still something bothering Kairi. It took Olette only a short moment to notice what she had forgotten.

"How are you going to handle Naminè now?"

Kairi knew what Olette meant but decided to play dumb. In all honesty, it really was a bit annoying when one was able to see through someone else like Olette did right now with her.

"What do you mean?"

"She broke her promise, so what are you going to do?"

Kairi had already handled that. For now. It had been a unpleasant decision, but it was necessary. They could think about what to do after this mission.

"I told her the kiss never happened. I...don't want to lose another friend. I'd rather forget all about it and continue like before, even if it would be a bit awkward..."

Olette at first didn't know what Kairi meant with 'another', but she then remembered that Kairi really was on a quest to look for her childhood friends.

"I don't like thinking about all this. I just...don't know what I should think anymore!"

Kairi looked to the right side, and from the noises she was making, Olette guessed that she was about to cry again. But she wouldn't put salt on her wounds.

To prevent any further crying from Kairi, Olette laid a arm over Kairi's shoulder and pulled her closer to herself. It always was soothing to be held.

"Olette, don't...it's nothing, and..." Kairi tried and failed.

"It's not nothing. I don't know your past, and I'm not interested. It's not anything we can change anyway. And remember that you're a girl, just like me, and after that, we're Keyblader. There's nothing wrong with making mistakes and sometimes showing a weak side."

It was as if Olette could read her mind and said exactly what Kairi wanted to hear. But for the moment, that was a good thing.

Kairi leaned on Olette a little more, resting her head on the girl's shoulders as she slowly began to calm down down. It was like this afternoon—unlike everyone else, Olette saw the girl in her. In a sense, it really was something special. Around Olette, she could let loose, could forget about the important mission that carried on for years already.

She moved even closer, still leaning on Olette. She was now really close to her. Kairi could feel Olette's breath on her neck, could feel her chest going up and down. For Kairi, it was a chance to be her other self, the ordinary girl who liked to fool around with her friends.

"You think you could pet my head?"

Olette almost laughed, but she managed to suppress it and instead just smiled. At least Kairi seemed to be opening up a bit. Her own feelings for Kairi were in complete chaos, but for the time being, this was more than enough.

"You're a dog or something?" Olette sneered, and blew a bit warm breath in her neck.

Kairi immediately got goosebumps, but didn't move. It wasn't that bad. After all, she knew that Olette didn't have any intentions like Naminè had. It was just fooling around a bit.

"Tease. Bad tease," Kairi complained and played a sulking face, even though Olette couldn't see it.

It was more of a sister relationship, or one of best friends.

Instead of doing it again, just to tease her further, Olette really started petting her head. It was a nice feeling to have Kairi's hair running through her fingers, and when Kairi leaned further back, so that Olette could almost look down in her face, she felt her heart going faster by the second.

"Say Olette...when I'm like this...can I come to you and you'll pet my head?"

Kairi said it with a smirk, even showing Olette her tongue and then giggling.

Olette slowly felt a heat. They were in the south sea, but this heat was uncommon. Where did it come from?

"If you pay me, that is," Olette responded.

She could have immediately hit her own head. 'If you pay me'—what kind of ridiculous response was that? Why did she ever so often stumble over her own words when talking to Kairi?

"Okay, I'll pay you. But I decide on the payment."

That really was a unexpected response. It seemed that Olette was not the only one who was a bit clumsy with words when it came to such situations. Or Kairi had something evil in mind.

"You're plotting something, aren't you?" Olette teased the first Keyblader further.

"Yes. Something really evil." Kairi smirked again and poked Olette's sides. The other girl returned that action in an instant.

After continuing that game for a few minutes, both of them were gasping for air. The poking had gone a bit overboard and they had both started laughing. Olette was laying on her back in the white sand of the beach, which was more a light grey in the darkness. Kairi was right next to her, also laying on her back.

"I never knew you could have fun like this, Kairi."

"It's thanks to you. I would never be able to do this with Naminè or even Yuffie."

Olette was happy that both their faces were bright red. She could tell that she would've been blushing if not for her already reddened face.

It took them a few minutes, and out of lack for breath, they didn't speak a word. It was, for Olette and Kairi likewise, fascinating how they could be like that. Not so long ago, Kairi had been crying and Olette was deeply annoyed by the fact Naminè had kissed her.

"We should look around the island," Kairi said, but it was not her usual cold attitude.

Olette was happy to tag along. In the darkness of the jungle, Kairi would be unable to see that her face was still red. Guessing was one thing, and all the time she had been in Hollow Bastion and near Kairi, the question plagued her. Did she like girls, and if so, did she like Kairi? At least the first question could be answered with yes at this point. Maybe it was because of the situation that she was looking at Kairi like that.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Kairi stopped, half-hidden in the shadows of the night, half-visible from the light of the moon.

"You are okay, aren't you?"

Olette had no idea what Kairi meant. They hadn't done anything dangerous in the last few minutes, and why was her voice wavering?

"I think so. We didn't really do anything dangerous. I'm feeling good, a little headache and lack of sleep—"

The next action made what Kairi meant very clear. She had, the previous one and the argument on the night of their departure aside, never seen Kairi have a outburst of emotion. Kairi turned around, apparently angry over something, and smashed her hand on a palm.

"You almost died on that cursed ship! How can you say we didn't do anything dangerous?! God, I was so worried..."

Olette didn't really know what to say now. She was good at comforting people with their problems, but this time, she herself was the problem. Sure, it wasn't her fault. There was little she could've done to prevent what happened. And now that she was thinking about it, right after she woke up, she saw Kairi's face. And, yeah that was it, Kairi had apparently cried back there.

"You cried, thinking I was gone, didn't you?"

Bullseye. Kairi said nothing but turned around and hid her face in the darkness.

Most people would now have said something to comfort the other, something to make clear it wasn't their fault when they apparently were giving themselves all the blame. Not so Olette.

Kairi was embraced and could then feel how Olette was whispering in her ear.

"I'm fine though. I get by that completely inhuman training with Tifa. If a bit of darkness and stuff is all that is necessary to make you worry, I'm going to have to comfort you every night. How should I keep up with that?"

Olette could feel heat rising inside her. Standing like this, even though she was just comforting Kairi, gave her more than just a pleasant feeling. It was much more. For a split second, she had wanted to draw Kairi closer to herself, tighten the embrace and do...some things. Olette really was happy that Kairi cared about her. Nobody else did. Not like this. But how long would she be able to stay like this? Her heart was going faster by the second. Kairi would notice.

Kairi was feeling a bit better. When Olette was joking about it like that, she didn't feel so bad anymore. Maybe she really had a bad habit of forcing the blame on herself.

"Thanks."

"Oh, uh, no problem. I guess. Just..." Olette didn't know what to say. Her mind was all fuzzy.

"Shall we...continue our rounds? You'll need to let me go first for that..."

Olette was a bit startled. Sure, she had only meant it to comfort Kairi, but now that she was about to let her go, it occurred to her that this was more of comforting herself.

There was a certain thought in Olette's head, and it had become more clear by the moment. If she really saw Kairi just as friend, why was her heart beating like that?

Before Kairi could say anything further, Olette let her go and took a few steps backwards. She felt a bit dizzy.

After some time, as they had no clocks to check the time and they both weren't able to measure the time on the hands of the moon, Kairi and Olette returned to the hideout. It was Kairi's turn to sleep.

When Kairi was about to go down the stairs, Olette wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"You sure you told me everything that bothers you? About you and Naminè...kissing?"

It wasn't the most pleasant topic for Olette. She had to admit it now, she liked Kairi more than she had guessed. Olette wasn't sure if she had a crush on Kairi or not, but still, talking with her about her and another girl kissing wasn't pleasant.

"Yeah...I...look, I want to forget that it happened. I want to stay friends with her. At least for now. I'm not so sure what I should think anymore."

Kairi was confused. Sure, she had wanted to be just friends with Naminè. She even got Naminè to promise that she wouldn't cling to Kairi like before. And now? She had given in to that kiss so easily, even liked it. What did she really want? Was all what she was thinking just made up? Was she afraid of confronting her emotions?

"I think you should, at least until we're out of here, act like nothing happened. After that we'll have enough time to think about it. But if you can't take it anymore, you can just come to me and talk to me."

Olette could have run into a palm tree. Just what was she saying? Leaving the issue like this? That wouldn't help Kairi at all. If anything, it only made it worse. And there was this stinging feeling in her chest whenever the issue came up. Why did she say something like that? Was that...being jealous?

Olette's still having advice for her put Kairi at ease. It was good to see that she wouldn't leave her side. On her way downstairs, however, Kairi remembered something important.

"I forgot. Your payment."

Before Olette could clear up the joke, Kairi had already done it. One step forward, both hands on her shoulders, and a kiss on the cheek.

It came as such a surprise that Olette stood there with open mouth. There was no ill intent from Kairi—she had done it to get Olette back for before.

"See you in a few hours."

Kairi was about to step down the ladder to the basement again when Olette held her back for a second.

"You'll be okay with Naminè?"

Kairi just nodded and vanished.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Are you mad?"

Olette and Naminè had walked almost three times around the whole island. Olette's feet were aching all over, but standing still meant talking with Naminè, and Olette wasn't sure she would be able to be friendly to her. Kairi had calmed down and even when Olette checked on her, after she had talked to Naminè, everything seemed to be fine.

"I'm not. What should I be mad about, anyway?"

Olette knew very well about what. In fact, she would've been mad if not for Kairi and the happy time she had with her after the disaster with Naminè.

"I broke my promise. Kairi said it was a slip-up, but you're still mad."

Naminè could instinctive feel when someone was mad or not. But in this case, it was kind of obvious that Olette was annoyed and mad.

"I'm not mad!" Olette practically yelled at the girl in white, who was frightened by that action and took a step back. "Okay, I am, but what did you expect? You broke your promise, kissed Kairi, saw her past although no one can blame you for that. But I can blame you for kissing her. I doubt Kairi humped you and started it."

That much was true, but Olette was keeping quiet about what happened between Kairi and herself. Naminè didn't need to know that, at least not now. It would only lead to annoying questions.

"I don't know. I don't want you to be mad. I was scared too when I saw... felt those things. It wasn't something I wanted to see. I didn't do that on purpose."

Now Naminè was fighting back. It was not right for Olette to put all the blame on her. Sure, she did something wrong with kissing Kairi, but when Kairi had already forgiven her, it was stupid for Olette to carry it any further.

"You did kiss her on purpose!"

"She isn't that upset about it anymore. It's more that—"

"But she should be! You broke your promise, forced a kiss on her, and who knows how far things would have gone if that weird memories thing hadn't happened!"

"Why are you angry about me kissing her and not because she got upset?"

Olette could feel that this wasn't going to end well. Naminè saw right through her.

"Because...'cause...who said I'm angry about you kissing her?!"

"So you _are_ mad about that."

"That's none of your business!"

Naminè was now a bit mad herself. Olette was acting childish.

"I don't want to argue with you, Olette. I know it's my fault for kissing her, but you're really acting odd."

She knew it. Olette knew she was acting odd. But it wasn't so easy to just swallow what she had seen and heard and still be friends with Naminè.

"I don't want to argue with you either, not really. But...I don't know, maybe I'm just tired and overacting."

Naminè made a effort to get along with her. It would be really stupid to stay stubborn and continue like that. Maybe she should talk openly with her. After all, Naminè wasn't out to displace Olette or anything.

Olette decided to cool down a bit and went to the close beach, throwing some of the icy water in her face. She needed to clear her head; her mind was filled with nonsense. Why was she acting like this? Kairi wasn't her girlfriend or anything even remotely close to that.

"I'm...um...sorry. I didn't want to act like a moron, but the more I was thinking about it, the more I got heated up. I didn't even hear your version of the story."

"That's okay. Aerith told me that even the best friends argue and act like idiots from time to time."

"You didn't have to call me an idiot, Naminè..."

Olette took a deep breath and sat down in the sand. The night was a bit chilly compared to the hot day that had welcomed them. Maybe it was time to face reality and think about what to do.

"What did it feel like?"

Now that she was at least halfway over the matter and had cooled down a bit, curiosity got the better of her.

"What do you mean?"

Naminè was unsure what Olette meant. The kiss, the memories, the—

"The kiss. What else would I ask about?"

The slightest thing was enough to get her back in a annoyed state. Her mood was very delicate right now. On one hand, Olette really was jealous. On the other hand, she was even more curious.

"It felt...good. I can't really explain it, but her lips really are soft, and she was so shy when we kissed. Completely unlike the Kairi we know. It was like a fire was building up inside my chest. And I could feel that Kairi liked it too."

Naminè drew several lines in the sand while telling the other girl and didn't dare to look up, secretly blushing like a ripe tomato. Now that she was talking about it like that, it seemed much bigger of a deal than it had been.

"I wish I could have switched with you."

"Did you say something?" Naminè had overheard whatever Olette had said.

"No. Nothing. Brr, it's really gotten cold." Olette tried to escape, now that she had said _that_.

"Are you sure you said nothing? I'm pretty sure I heard you mumbling something."

"Maybe you got a little too excited from telling me about kissing her, huh?" Now Olette was teasing her, poking her a little.

She had said that out loud, by mistake. The urge to imagine how it would be to kiss Kairi was simply overwhelming.

"Look, the sun."

Naminè pointed on the horizon. It really was time for her to get up. The first night was over.

---Valiant Hearts---

"That was...the most interesting breakfast I've ever had."

Kairi looked down at the leftovers. Some sort of fruit, by now unidentifiable, was lying there, having survived Olette's preparation process and Naminè's more or less successful cooking attempt. It was amazing in itself that anything was able to get past that. It was a good thing the Heartless weren't that persistent.

"Not much we can do on this forsaken island," Olette complained as she threw every leftover in a bush.

The three girls were sitting on a big stone that served as table and chairs at once. The early morning hours had brought a terrible rain, and now the whole island was soaking wet. The sun had just come out, and the only halfway dry place was this rock. To eat in the basement was impossible. Due to the rain, almost every single insect one could think of was hiding down there. Not even a horse would get Naminè or Kairi down there. Olette had offered to dispose of them, but Kairi got away with saying the air down there was as thick as a wooden plate anyway.

"We shouldn't waste time. We need to get away. Now that I think about it, did either of you see Sparrow?" Kairi asked, less out of curiosity than because she thought Sparrow could know a way out of this misery.

Both girls shook their head. That was weird. This island wasn't that big, and even when the rain had been pouring down, there had been no trace of Sparrow.

"He isn't our main problem. I don't think this guy from the Organization will leave us alone. Sooner or later, and I think it's going to be first one, he will come back. We escaped to a isolated island, but he could have easily followed us. That also could mean he must have some sort of plan."

Kairi was almost like someone with a split personality. While both of the girls had gotten to know a completely different site of her, they were always surprised how easily Kairi could adjust back to her tactician personality.

"We don't have the time to wait for a ship to come by, nor do we have the tools to build a float ourselves. I have an idea how we could get away, but it's going to be really dangerous. We don't have much of a choice, though. The only other option would be to stay here and play sitting duck."

Kairi wasn't thrilled by that idea. It was basically even stupid and childish, but there really was little other choice. It was good that Kairi knew a bit about the nature of Keyhole Portals.

"We will freeze our way to where the ship was and use the remains of the portal there. A gateway leaves a certain signature, and like almost everything, a Keyblade can open that signature. I alone wouldn't be able to make it big enough for a person to pass, though, but with the three of us, we should be able to—"

Olette stood there with open mouth. This was a tad too ridiculous to come from Kairi. Had the fruits been poisonous? Had Kairi gone mad? Was she hallucinating? Naminè didn't seem to understand what Kairi was saying, as she didn't have that 'Are you insane?' look on her face at all.

"Do you even remember where the ship was?!" Olette turned around, randomly pointing in directions.

"That's easy to find out. A Keyblade remembers the last portal it opened," Kairi said and summoned Oathkeeper, pointing it straight at the sky.

A second later, a thin light ray emitted from the blade roared a few hundred feet through the air and vanished in mid-air above the ocean to their right.

"Naminè, it's your job to freeze the water. I'm barely able to do so, since I lack the ability to use recitations, but you should be able to do it. Olette and I will take care of any Heartless that try to attack you from the water."

That was a huge duty for the blond girl. It was quite far, and freezing even a small part of the ocean should be ridiculously hard. They had to walk on it, so it had to be pretty massive too.

"I'll try my best." She didn't want to stay on the island forever either.

It was a bit weird to look at Kairi like that, after what happened the night before. Sure, she shouldn't have kissed her, but seeing Kairi completely ignoring her hurt. Maybe it was for the better this way, but somehow, Naminè would've preferred it even if Kairi would have acted a bit awkward around her. Like this, it was as if the previous night never happened.

Naminè decided to talk to Kairi after they left the island. It shouldn't remain between them like this, and Naminè was eager to clear the air. After all, she wanted to be with Kairi.

"We're in the south sea, so we'll have to wait until it's dark. Otherwise, we'll be too much under time pressure. Having the sun melt the ice won't help," Kairi instructed further.

Olette sort of looked up at her. She had thought about this in this short time, and considering what had happened that night...

"We'll rest to gather our strength until it gets dark. Especially you, Naminè. I don't fear the Heartless in the ocean as much as us running out of energy halfway. If we do, we'll have to swim. And with the countless Heartless in the water waiting for us, that's not a good decision. But I know you can do it. I trust you. And you too, Olette. If not for you, I don't know who else I would trust to watch my back."

For the brunette, was that a huge compliment. Kairi trusted her to such a extent already. Even though Kairi usually didn't rely on her, it was obvious that it would be stupid not to. Olette was a good fighter. And even though she was completely unable to use magic, Kairi had a high regard for her.

Naminè knew that this was her first chance to prove she wasn't just tagging along and needing continuous protection. Her great latent magic potential would finally be put to use. And on the vast ocean, she could completely let loose.

"We will keep guard alone. It's bright and I don't think the Organization would attack in the middle of the day. I'll do the first guard since I slept the most. You two go to sleep. Olette, I'll wake you up in a few hours. We need to be in top form for tonight."

Both of the girls agreed on that, even though Olette would have preferred to keep watch with her.

---Valiant Hearts---

"_Mistress of Ice, Lady of the Cold, Shiva Irselia, lend me your power, grant me your might and let all and anything that stands in our way freeze until the end of all days._"

It was a extremely powerful recitation that Aerith had taught her to use in case of a emergency. It was very draining, but the spell was on par with the most powerful Blizzaga one could possibly imagine. Only a summon would be more powerful.

At least three hundred feet ahead of them, water was forming a bridge of ice more than five feett wide. It took them over half a hour to walk to the end of it. Magic ice was very smooth and they had to be careful not to stumble.

"That really was impressive, Naminè. I didn't know you could do this kind of stuff."

It was like a sweet dessert for her to be praised by Kairi. Honestly, the spell had completely misfired, as it was intended to be a attack spell that had a range of over one thousand feett. But it was good that she had managed to use it correctly at all.

"Now the second wave. The direction is still good."

As if to prove her words, Kairi hold her Keyblade up and the light passed over them in the same direction Naminè was facing.

"Aerith said I can use that special recitation only once every twenty-four hours. A second use could anger Shiva, and Aerith said that it would be suicide to anger a spirit lord."

Kairi knew what Naminè meant. Aerith told her of several stories about when she had used summons, and a few times she had even witnessed their immensely destructive power. To go up against such a thing truly was suicide.

Naminè was kneeling on the ice, preparing the next spell, when the first Heartless decided to attack. It wasn't much of a battle, as the Heartless were at home in the ocean and basically helpless on the bridge of ice.

"_Child of that which is Eternal, Lord of Snow and Storm, Shiven Irselia, loan your power to me, the one that calls upon the infinite kingdom of white._"

A cone of cold emitted from Naminè, freezing another part of the ocean. The bridge must be now almost scale five hundred feet, maybe a bit less.

Kairi was amazed that Naminè was capable of such spells already, but she had to admit that it was probably one thing to just unleash a spell on a static target and another thing to carefully measure the power and hit a moving target, like a Organization member.

"We're doing well. Are you okay, Naminè?"

Kairi knelt next to her and patted her head. It really was astounding. The otherwise fragile girl could let loose one powerful spell after another.

"I'm fine. I can continue."

Kairi gave her a nod, and their way over the ocean was going well. A lot of spells later, Naminè was pretty burned out. Kairi had even taken over for a short period and tried to freeze a bit with Blizzara magic, but more than a few feett in total wasn't possible for her.

"We're almost there," Olette said and pointed at some point in the air.

Kairi let the light ray emit again and indeed, they were only about hundred feet away from the portal.

"One or two more spells and we're there, Naminè. You're doing a great job."

She really was. Kairi hadn't thought she had that much power. When she learned to channel her power more accurately, Naminè would be a big help. Olette did her own job, too. Whenever a Heartless dared to even stick his head out of the water, she was there to kill it.

"I think this is far enough."

That voice didn't belong to any of them, but Kairi knew to whom it did. What she had feared for most was really happening, and in the worst possible moment too.

When Kairi turned around, a blond man was standing behind them, waiting for them. The way back to the island had been cut off. The ice was gone.

"The Organization," Kairi whispered.

"We need to get away from here. We can't fight on this ground!" Olette responded.

"I doubt we'll manage that. The way to the portal is too far to swim, too far to walk or use spells to freeze. This isn't looking good."

End of Chapter X


	11. Gambling

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter XI

_Gambling_

"What business has the Organization here?" Kairi yelled over at the man with the black coat.

She had to stall as long as possible. Right now, they were in the worst situation possible, and Kairi had no plan. Naminè was exhausted, and fighting on magically created ice was just ridiculous.

"That is none of your business, Keyblader."

He didn't seem very talkative. That wasn't good. This worked so very well in theory, but in reality, the enemy didn't wait until one was ready to fight.

"Who—" Kairi was cut off before she could say anything further.

"I'm not here to talk or drink tea. It is none of your business who I am, what I am after, or what I am doing here."

And to stress those facts even more, he came at the girls with surprising speed. He, however, didn't leave the ice, and that was enough for Kairi to handle a emergency tactic.

"Olette, in front of me. You're the best close up. I will back you up."

The ice bridge wasn't that wide, and there was only one enemy. They had the advantage here.

Olette did as instructed and passed Kairi in the instant the Organization member had almost reached them. While running, Olette materialized her second blade, the Hero's Crest, and launched a brutal frontal attack at the enemy—

—only find out immediately that this wouldn't be so easy. A giant card had materialized out of thin air directly between Olette and the man.

"Ace of Hearts, Absolute Protection," a voice rang from behind the at least eight-foot-tall card.

"Ace of Spades, Impact!" was the next thing Olette heard before she was sent flying.

Something had tackled her and robbed her of breath. It was like Tifa had just hit her with all her strength. To her luck, Kairi was watching the scenario and caught Olette before she could hit the icy hard ground.

"Just what in the hell was that?" Olette complained, barely able to speak.

"His cards. From the reports the other gave, each of the Organization members has his own special style of fighting. This one seems to be fighting with cards."

Now it was time to launch a counter-offensive. Kairi used a fast cure spell on Olette and waited for a moment. Naminè would finish her preparations for a wide-scale ice spell any second now. That would clear the condition of the ground. Now, Kairi had to figure out how to deal with this card maniac.

But where was he? Neither Kairi nor Olette was able to spot him. Kairi had lost focus of him when she saved Olette.

"Queen of Diamonds, Illusion Door and King of Spades, Royal Tackle!"

The man appeared out of thin air right between Kairi and Olette, and before they could react, the next card was played and both of them were thrown to the ground. It was like the effect of a tenfold increase in gravity.

Both of them could feel the impact on the ice. It hurt like crap, but it would've been worse if the ground had been made of stone. Magically-created ice was just about as solid and strong as natural ice. If this attack had landed a successful hit on stone ground, it would have been devastating.

Kairi gave Olette a nod, and a split second later, the brunette was in mid-air, both Keyblades roaring through the night, heading right at the enemy.

"Jack of Hearts, Mir—" he was cut off.

"No, not this time!" Kairi yelled, kicking after his legs and managing to throw him off balance. On the unstable ground, he couldn't get any grip, and before he could finish playing his card, Olette was about to slash him to pieces.

"Three of six!" he shouted, and threw a few dice. Time seemed to stand still. Olette was frozen in mid-air, the enemy falling, Kairi only able to watch. Only the dice were rolling. One stopped. Six. The second stopped. Six. The third was rolling on the ice. One.

Time continued to work and the man got hit by a brutal frontal double-slash from an angry brunette. He screamed out in pain and held his left shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

"Seven of Diamonds, Teleport!"

And he was gone from their eyes.

They hadn't won, that Kairi won. Someone who could throw them around like that wouldn't turn tail and run because of a single injury.

And it was finally time for Naminè to show her power.

"_Lord of Ice, Mother to the Infinite Cold, Celsius, hear my plea! Grant thy power upon thy servant, the force to freeze what is live, to have stand still what is time, and to bring destruction upon thy foes! Let us walk the path of eternity together!_"

Naminè knew this spell from a book she had read in library in Hollow Bastion, which told about the lords of the elements. They were dangerous beings, much stronger than the beings that were called upon in a summon. They were the ultimate incarnation of the element itself. It was dangerous alone to use a recitation with a single spell, and trying to summon one of those was basically suicide.

Their situation was desperate, and without such a powerful recitation, Naminè would have failed to use another large-scale magical attack.

Kairi reacted immediately. Olette didn't know what was going on, but was drawn by Kairi to where Naminè was. In the first seconds nothing happened.

"Naminè, are you okay? Just what was that spell you used? I never heard Aerith calling upon Celsius. Whom did you ask for power?"

Before Naminè could answer that, she felt the spell starting to take form—but it was uncontrollable and much too strong. Naminè got scared and tried to disrupt the spell flow, but it was already too late.

Right below them, the ice gave a cracking sound. The air around them cooled down so rapidly that they started coughing. Something was wrong—horribly wrong—with that spell.

"Naminè, what did you do?" Olette asked, trying to suppress the pain in her lungs and continue breathing. The temperature must have been way below zero degrees.

"I tried to get power from the Spirit Lord of Ice, Celsius. But something went wrong. I couldn't control the spell, and the power is much too great for what I asked."

"I only asked you to—" Kairi could not finish her line.

Below them, the ice broke and another level of ice, massive and much bigger than before, formed around them. It expanded rapidly, and soon, the ice bridge had vanished, and a gigantic platform of ice had formed in its place. It wasn't as smooth as the magical ice, and it wasn't even. All over the place monstrous spikes were rising from the ground. The whole place looked like a hell of ice.

"I think this is overdoing it a bit..." Olette said and looked around.

In the same moment, it started snowing. In the middle of the south sea, it started snowing.

"At least we can fight now," Kairi said, and started looking for the enemy. "Olette, you try to confront him in close range. I will try to back you up. Naminè, as soon as you feel good enough, try to support us with curative magic. And both of you, try to keep moving. It should be much harder for the enemy to hit us when we're split up moving."

As soon as the instruction was given, the three of them left to different sides.

"Ace of Clubs, Long Arch's Whip. Seven of Clubs, Roaring Air. Nine of Clubs, Sixteen Slashes!" the voice echoed from above them.

Up there, over twenty feet above them, was the man, standing on a oversized card.

"The King of Diamonds...I didn't hear him using that one before," Kairi said. The effects of the cards he just used were unknown. The Ace was directed at Olette, the Seven at herself, and the Nine at Naminè.

"Keep moving! Use the terrain to your advantage!" Kairi yelled.

The first card to take action was the Ace. Olette could feel it coming. With a fast left turn, she avoided the first impact. A boulder of ice was sliced in half and then destroyed. The flowing ice dust revealed what had caused the damage—a whip, seemingly made of air. Olette looked around, trying to find a way to get close to the enemy, but there was nothing remotely high enough to reach him.

Kairi was next. She had already a good idea of what was coming. Right behind her, something was roaring over the ice, like a miniature tornado that was following her. Jumping on one of the ice spikes, she tricked the effect and it crashed into the spike. "Seems he isn't used to Club cards," Kairi noticed. "Naminè! Use a reflect spell!"

Something was coming up on her; Naminè immediately got goosebumps. Kairi told her to use reflect, but for that she had to stop moving. Would there be enough time? A fast recitation would have to do.

"_Jewel's Mirror, Erolis, protect me!_"

It was barely in time. The reflect was up and just a split second later, exactly sixteen impacts clashed onto the spell.

That was enough for Kairi. If the spell names described the attacks so accurately, it was stupid to call the names out like that. Why was he doing it?

"I've never seen a ice spell of this scale."

The man was talking loudly enough for them all to hear it, even though they were over fifty feet apart from each other.

"I am Luxord, the Gambler. This game is becoming very interesting."

"You're sick if you think of this as game!" Olette shouted. She was still looking for a possibility to reach him up there. Maybe it was time to use _that._

"But of course is this a game. You're not telling me that you've been fighting me seriously up to now, are you?"

Olette could only shake her head in incomprehension. At the beginning, she had thought of fighting the Heartless as kind of a game, not so different from Struggle. But Olette soon noticed that it wasn't something to enjoy. It was a battle, something very serious, and she had learned that the hard way.

It was more than clear than Luxord was enjoying himself. Even though they had managed to get away from his cards so far and avoid any major injuries, he was out of reach and didn't have the same level of exhaustion.

Kairi tried to analyze the situation. He was using cards as his ability resource. From the looks of it, Club cards served range attacks and Spade cards close range. The other two were not as clear, as he was using a Diamond card to float up there and had used a Heart card to completely deflect Olette's first attack. What else could those two suits do?

Naminè was running. She had almost reached Kairi. It was too dangerous for her to be too far away from the other two. If Luxord would get at her with a Spade...

"Let the true game begin!"

And it did. Luxord ceased his use of King of Diamonds, and with a not-so-elegant impact, crushed down the thick ice, leaving a little crater around the impact point.

"Ace of Clubs, Three of Four!"

The card was frozen halfway, the dices rolling. Four. Another Four. The last one was still spinning. Kairi had a good idea of what the cards did, but the dice thing was a complete mystery.

"Three of Four, Wheel of Repeat!" Luxord jubilated when the Ace of Clubs started working and launched multiple attacks against Kairi and Naminè, who were standing at least fifty feet away from Olette.

They had no time to lose and started running. From the past attacks, Kairi could already say that the value of the card was a rough estimate of the attack power. And the Ace was the highest value in a game...

On a wild run from the invisible whip attacks, Kairi came up with a possible way to attack Luxord. The card was just a tool—a mindless mechanic that did its job until it was done.

Cutting a edge, Kairi turned away, trying to spot Luxord. He was in close combat with Olette. The moment she saw the two, an explosion rose around them, wrapping them in ice dust.

"Ace of Spades, Impact!"

But Olette had found a way to counter. Both Keyblades served as shield, crossed before her, taking the impact and countering with a equal force of brutality.

"King of Hearts, Wa—" He was too late.

Olette whirled around and kicked Luxord in the abdomen and following with a double horizon slash that sent the Organization member flying. He crashed into a boulder of ice.

If there was one thing she had learned, then it was that people had no mercy on the battlefield. Before Luxord could get up, Olette was already above him, roaring through mid-air with Keyblades directed at him. The impact was enough to leave a five-foot crater around them.

Luxord had escaped.

The Ace of Clubs card was still working; it was seemingly now redirected at Olette, who had to make a run for it. For her, the fastest of the three, it wasn't much of a problem to evade the ranged attacks of the card.

Kairi's plan had failed upon the re-direction of the card, but at least Naminè, who had been using reflect spells to defend against the Clubs card, was now safe. For now.

Where was Luxord? Kairi could only think it once before he appeared out of nowhere behind her, already setting for a card.

"Queen of Spades, Hammer Hilt Bash!"

Kairi could feel the impact. It was breath-robbing, and if not for her daily training, it could easily have blown her lights out. However, she had already a plan for such a scenario. Before the impact was fully over, Kairi de-materialized Oathkeeper and grabbed Luxord's arm with both hands, taking him along on the flight of the impact.

Luxord was so taken by surprise that he was unable to move or act. Seconds later, he could feel massive ice on his back, and see how Kairi, now materializing Oathkeeper, was about to launch a attack.

"Ace of Hearts, Absolute Protection."

He was barely in time. Kairi had used the momentum of the flight to attack him head-on, and the shock wave upon Oathkeeper clashing onto the barrier was enough to push Luxord further into the ice.

"Queen of Dia—" He couldn't play the card in time.

Luxord took too much time playing his cards. It was impossible for him to play two cards this close in succession. Kairi already had turned once, and was about to unleash the next attack, aiming for his head. "You can't run!" she yelled, closing in.

"Ace of Hearts, Absolute Protection."

He was slow. Too slow. Kairi was half-through the barrier when the card took effect. Even though it influenced her aim, she managed to pierce Luxord's right arm. Blood clung to Oathkeeper's blade, the yell of pain went through her head. This was a battle, not a playground.

"Ace of Diamonds, Dimension Door!"

Kairi had no time to disrupt him with another attack. The Ace of Hearts had pushed her back, and a good five feet separated her from the enemy. He was gone.

But Kairi knew he was there. Somewhere.

"King of Hearts, Particle of Life!"

The words echoed over the place. Kairi had not only caused him to flee for a second. She had also stopped the Ace of Clubs card from working, which finally give Olette a chance to catch her breath.

He was a stronger foe than anything Kairi had ever met. Truly, the Organization was powerful. But to be this powerful, there must be some flaw.

"Ace of Spades, Impact!"

Again, he appeared out of thin air, this time attacking Naminè, who was unable to block a hit that close in that short of time. The attack was strong enough to make her fly over twenty feet. She crashed into a pillar of ice, losing consciousness.

"This game will end with three to zero for me." The man laughed and again, he played the Ace of Diamonds. It didn't look like he wanted to finish Naminè.

Olette caught up to Kairi, who was running over to Naminè. The enemy was not to be trusted, Kairi had to make sure Naminè wasn't badly injured. But it only looked like she had lost consciousness from the impact.

"Three of Three, Jack of Spades, Storm Lancer."

He appeared right between them, standing there like it was natural to be almost back-to-back with the enemy.

And again, time seemed to stand still. The dices were rolling. Kairi had to do something about those dices. The last time he got Three of Four, the Ace he played was working on a endless repeat. Whatever Three of Three did, it couldn't be good. But luck was with them; the first was a six. Second a five. Third a two.

The card Luxord was playing vanished into nothingness, leaving his defense completely open. Kairi took immediately advantage of that, rushing at Luxord. Olette did the same.

Seconds later, both his sides were slashed. As Kairi passed left, Olette passed right. It was worth the try and Kairi grabbed Olette's hand, taking a turn on the ice. She whirled around and sent the brunette flying at the wounded Organization member. It was head-on, he was taken by surprise, unable to do anything before Olette could land her attack.

But the second Olette would have landed a hit, the enemy was gone. Not there. Something was wrong, and the first clue was that there wasn't any blood on either Circle of Life or Hero's Crest.

"That sure was unexpected. I thought you were just little girls. I think it's time I stop giving you advantages and play a bit more seriously."

The voice seemed to come from above. Had they attacked a illusion? But when did he create one? Just how many tricks had this man up his sleeve?

No more words came, instead Kairi could feel something behind her. Olette was about to point at something on her back when Kairi felt a familiar impact and got sent flying directly at Olette. Kairi would take her with her unless Olette was able to evade. Even so, Olette did nothing of that sort. She stomped once on the ice, increasing her grip, and crossed both Keyblades in front of her as if she were defending.

Kairi had only a guess what Olette was about to do, but that was the only logical explanation for what she did. Trying her best, Kairi managed to move in mid-air. Now her feet were directed at the crossed Keyblades. The impact sent pain up her legs. It was like her bones were breaking. Olette was pushed back about a foot, leaving scars in the ice. She gritted her teeth in pain, then sent Kairi right back in the direction she came from.

Luxord was surprised enough to have left his defense open. Kairi was unable to hit him with Oathkeeper; instead she fell into a frontal tackle, ripping him off his stance. He crashed into the same pillar Naminè had crashed into, definitely causing some damage to the Organization member. He spat some blood and Kairi was sure she heard something cracking.

That was enough for the flaxen-haired man. This was no longer a simple game for entertainment. He wanted to kill them. No matter how important they were, if he died here, all his moves would be for naught.

Once again, he vanished, just to appear a split second later behind Olette. He attacked with the Ace of Spades, vanished again, and then appeared before Kairi and used the Eight of Spades. The force was enough to break the pillar and leave Kairi laying on the ground. Her left arm was cut all over the place from ice shards, and she was losing blood. Worse, Kairi had fallen unconscious. Only Olette was left.

"I'm not going to make the same error a second time. I'm going to win with a royal flush!"

His voice was not amused anymore; it was cold and cruel. He stood above Kairi, seemingly thinking on how to finish her off.

"_...let the inferno self massacre my enemy!_"

A giant fireball flew over the ice, melting anything below it and leaving a enormous explosion upon the impact on Luxord. The man was burning, set on fire, and screaming in pain.

Naminè had regained consciousness and recited a Firega. It was buying them time. Luxord had broken out in panic and was trying to diminish the fire, still screaming in pain.

"_Great Forest of Life, grant thy child the blessing of life!_"

Naminè used a Curera spell on Kairi, trying to get her back to consciousness.

Olette was having problems wielding her Keyblades. The previous action had put a lot of stress on her muscles and it was hard to ignore the aching pain in her arms. But right now was a chance to test _that_.

Running with all her might, ignoring the numb feeling in her feet, Olette got closer to the burning Luxord by the second. She had practiced this move over and over with Tifa, and while it was a bad idea to use it with her arms like that, this could be the decisive attack.

Luxord had regained some of his cool. With all his concentration, he caused first a crater in the ice with the Ace of Spades. But before the second Ace could work, Olette started her attack. Throwing both Keyblades right and left past Luxord, she quickly closed in on him.

"Ace of Hear—"

"Too slow!" Olette yelled, and landed a furious punch on Luxord's abdomen. She could feel one or two bones breaking, but half her body was already numb from the cold. Suppressing the urge to yell out in pain, she turned and set on the same spot a kick. Again, something definitely broke, and Luxord was sent flying.

The Keyblades Olette had thrown were on their way back, crossing the air-line of Luxord. Both his sides got cut, and he still continued to fly, finally crashing into a pillar of ice over thirty feet away. The impact caused the pillar to break, burying the man under massive ice.

Olette could not bear it anymore. She fell on her back and screamed out in agony, feeling through all the numbness from the cold the pain of broken bones in her hands and legs.

Meanwhile, Kairi had regained consciousness even though she was barely able to stand. It had become a battle of endurance. The cold was making her senses numb, and it was adding the pain of frostbite to the other injuries. It was hard on Naminè, but without a powerful cure spell, they would lose their lives.

Kairi got up, supported by Naminè, and walked over to where Olette was lying on the ice, trying to suppress the urge to scream out further.

It did seem like either Luxord had either passed out or he was dead. Kairi hoped for the latter. They weren't in any condition to finish him off anyway.

"Naminè, just try a cure spell. The strongest you have. We need to get away from here quickly."

Naminè had not taken as much damage as it seemed, upon the impact on the pillar. "I will try my best."

"_Blessing of the Moon, shine down upon us._"

More than a Curera spell was just plain impossible.

"Do you think he is...?" Naminè couldn't say it. It was hard to grab the reality of actually having helped to kill someone.

"I hope so. It didn't look like he was going to spare me," Kairi replied.

"If he survived that blow," Olette gritted her teeth upon feeling that her bones were being fixed by magic—a very painful method compared to natural healing. "Then he should at least be out cold for a while. But I don't think I...really did it."

It wasn't easy for Olette either. Taking on Heartless and Nobodies was one thing. But this was different. He was alive, a person with a free will. She did feel bad about it, but Olette knew that there had been little choice. It was him or them.

Something cracked. Olette yelled out in pain and rolled over. The bones were fixed, but she was on the verge of passing out from the pain.

"I will finish this. If we don't, he will come back soon enough. Olette, Naminè, wait here. This is not something I want either of you to have to witness."

Kairi stood up and gathered her concentration. It was hard to do so, not only because magic cure was painful for the body if used for greater wounds, but also because of the frostbite from the ice that the girls had all over the place.

The other two didn't move an inch. Was Kairi really going to...?

Only a few feet separated Kairi from the place where Luxord had crashed into the ice pillar. It was untouched. If he really was still there, he had to be unconscious.

Kairi would not take the risk of being victim to a surprise attack. It was just ice. Nothing a single Firera spell couldn't solve.

Directing Oathkeeper at the wild pile of crushed ice, a fireball emerged from it, flying over and clashing onto the ice. It wasn't enough. Whatever had caused Naminè's spell to go wild, this ice was far beyond anything Kairi had ever seen.

Another set of Firera later, the ice had melted away. There was nothing below it. But how could there be nothing? Kairi couldn't believe her eyes. She got closer, watching the surroundings. Several things in Kairi's head were spinning. Using magic in her condition was dangerous.

There really was nothing. But how had he escaped? Olette's all-out attack should have knocked him out. And if only sitting and lying on the ice caused severe frostbite to them, what would being buried alive do to someone? Something was wrong.

As fast as her legs allowed her to, Kairi got back to the other two.

"He wasn't there!"

Naminè didn't seem to mind much; it was more that she was relieved that Kairi didn't have to kill someone. But Olette was shocked.

"What? I hit him so hard that I broke my bones! He should have at least been knocked out. Are you sure he didn't hide somewhere under the ice?"

Kairi hit Oathkeeper in the ground, cutting a little piece of ice out of it. She didn't dare to pick it up with bare hands. Instead, she pierced it with her Keyblade.

"This stuff is incredibly cold. We're getting frostbite by just sitting and laying on it. I don't think he would survive long if he really were buried under there. I didn't think about that before. That was my fault. He somehow escaped. And I have a feeling this is not the last we'll see of him."

Kairi threw the piece of ice away but didn't dematerialize Oathkeeper. The enemy could still be close by. Now that they knew he had escaped a freezing death, they had to be even more cautious.

"Stick close to each other. Olette ,can you walk? What about you, Naminè, are you okay?"

Even though Olette's bones had just been fixed and it would hurt like hell to walk anywhere, she nodded. Naminè was mentally exhausted but also gave Kairi an okay nod.

Looking closely at the two, Kairi was thinking how she was unable to protect them from the fate of a Keyblader. Even though she had given it her all, it was not enough. It was mortifying to admit that.

Olette leaned on Kairi, and Naminè walked close behind them. The gateway was nearby, but the risk of Luxord attacking them now, when they were wounded and vulnerable, was high.

"Direct your Keyblades at this point. Focus your thoughts on nothing but the gateway. You will feel a bit of a mental strain, but that will only be temporary." Kairi finished her instructions and waited for the others to follow her example.

There was nothing in the air. On the point Oathkeeper, Monochrome and Circle of Life met each other, something slowly started to form. Too slowly. Had they passed the time limit?

The keyhole was now visible, but the mental strain was much harder than expected. They were far over time, but they had little choice. They could go back to the island, but the keyhole would have completely vanished by the time they could try again, and staying on the ice platform was not even an option.

"My head hurts like crap," Olette complained but held out.

"We're almost there." Kairi knew that was a lie. They would barely be able to open it at this rate.

Going all out, the portal finally materialized and opened up. The pain in Kairi's head was almost strong enough to make her pass out. Only a few more seconds...

"That's big enough to go through one at a time." Kairi couldn't take it much longer.

"Naminè, go first, then you, Olette. I'll follow after you two."

The portal wavered in the moment Naminè passed through. The missing Keyblade immediately showed an effect—the gateway seemed to be more instable than ever.

"Are you sure this is supposed to...are you okay, Kairi?" Olette got a bit curious. Kairi was completely pale, even though she hadn't looked that bad before.

"I'm fine. Now go, I have no idea how long this thing will stay open." Kairi rarely lost her cool, but this didn't allow any further delay.

Olette sort of understood and immediately jumped through the gate. Another missing Keyblade seemed to be too much for the gate. It wavered, then broke down.

"What...Kairi!"

The portal was closed. It was finally over. Now they could go back to Hollow Bastion.

Kairi had no power left, neither to think nor to stand. The moon was still shining bright on the massive ice platform. It was cold, freezing and silent. Kairi couldn't even hear her own voice anymore. She was completely exhausted in mind and body, unable to speak or move.

Looking in the sky, where the stars were shining, Kairi could now feel a sense of regret. It was stupid to sneak out to another world alone. If she hadn't been that foolish, all this wouldn't have happened. But what else was left but regret?

She could barely see the sky. If they had tried with their usual means, the portal wouldn't have opened. Kairi had had to sacrifice more energy than she had imagined, but she had kept her promise. They could now go back to Hollow Bastion.

The night was getting darker. Her legs refused to work, and her arms couldn't hold the Keyblade. Was this it? Kairi knew that being a Chosen was bound to be risky, but that those risks would demand their price so soon was unexpected. She had always been wary and acted tactical.

Unable to move, Kairi stood there, not knowing what now would come. The ice must have been freezing her body, as she couldn't feel anything. Slowly, her legs gave out, and Kairi fell on the ice. It was not cold.

Next to her, on the ground, lay Oathkeeper. After all that happened, she couldn't keep the other promise she had made.

"_I'll find you two, no matter where you go!"_

Kairi couldn't even cry. The ice was freezing her tears on the spot.

Soon, her eyes closed and all got dark. It was a welcome darkness, numbing her thoughts.

No long after, even her mind was blank.

And then, only nothingness remained.

----Valiant Hearts---

"It won't work. Why won't it work?!" Olette was furious. The thought of what was happening to Kairi was eating at her insides. Her anger mixed with fear and Olette left all rationality behind her, trying to open the gateway that had crumbled behind her.

Naminè sat there, unable to think. Where was Kairi? What was happening? The shock was immense and Naminè was unable to comprehend anything.

Minutes that lingered for ages went by and Olette, exhausted and in horrible pain from the wounds all over her body, continued to rage, trying to open the portal. Even with two Keyblades, it refused to work. It didn't even show any sign that there still _was_ a portal.

"She...she will find another way. I'm sure. Kairi isn't going to stay on that dammed island. I'm sure she is going to be all 'Surprise! You two fell for it' when we meet up."

Olette wanted to believe it. She really did. But for now, she didn't know anything about what had really happened to Kairi, not even if she was still alive. That thought was paralyzing her body. The simple thought of Kairi not coming back, never seeing her again, was horrifying.

"Olette...can we go somewhere?" Naminè believed what Olette said. The idea of giving up on Kairi was too much to even consider.

There were no words that had to be said. Olette couldn't say "She might not be coming back." She refused to believe it herself.

"I...don't think Kairi will leave this world. We should look for her. Let's take the next portal. I can't explain why, but I have a feeling that she won't go back to Hollow Bastion. Not like this." Olette clung to that idea. She really thought that Kairi was still on the ice platform, but that thought was like poison.

"Hm." Naminè could barely speak. She believed in Olette and in Kairi. Believed in Kairi to come back to her.

Olette was aching all over the place, but she was able to walk. The inside of the gateway was as dark as ever. There must be another portal to this world. It was hard to concentrate when her whole body was a road of pain, but it was necessary.

Naminè was still a bit numb from the mental exhaustion. It barely allowed her to gather her thoughts on what she would say to Kairi when they met again.

Time went by, and the more it did, the more clear it was to Olette how slim the chances were for Kairi to escape the freezing hell. Even if she managed to go back to the island...

"Say, Olette...do you think we will see Kairi soon?" It was like Naminè was putting a needle in Olette's heart.

"Yeah. We will." She didn't look back. She couldn't.

How would Naminè react when she found out that Kairi was...?

But that wasn't even sure yet! Olette wanted to think positively. She had to!

Both of them silently continued to walk. A eternity later, Olette stopped. How long had they been walking? One hour? One day? She had no sense of time anymore. Her mind was pure chaos, everything seemed to focus on Kairi.

Olette rarely cried about anything, but she had reached her limit. Cold tears ran over her face as she finally let out what had been building up ever since the portal closed.

"Olette, are you crying?" Naminè seemed to be able to look right through other people.

"It's just my body hurting like hell," tried Olette, desperate to escape the reality of the situation.

Yes. It was only her body that was hurt. How could she admit to herself that her heart was just as much hurt? Since when did she care that much for Kairi?

A second later, Olette could feel Naminè embracing her from behind. Olette was not eager to be comforted by Naminè. This situation wasn't one that would be fixed by such simple things.

"I'm hurt too..." said Naminè, and from her voice, Olette knew immediately that it wasn't just her that was crying bitter tears.

For now, the brunette was okay with this. Maybe Naminè instinctively knew what really was going on. Maybe not. It didn't matter to her. She could feel Naminè's tears on her back. It was okay to cry in such a moment, wasn't it? It must be...

Standing like that for a while, Olette tried to get back to thinking a bit more realistically. Kairi wasn't that weak. She wasn't dumb, either. Kairi wouldn't sacrifice her life like that. She must have had some kind of plan.

Naminè didn't move one inch the whole time. She didn't know why, but her heart was aching even more than her head. It was like a needle of stone that pierced right through her. A undeniable truth was coming to her. It hurt to even think about it.

"Will we really...see Kairi again?" Naminè's voice was barely audible, so faint was she.

"Kairi will find us. You know her. She probably has a plan for all this. I don't think she can manage a portal on her own, so she'll try to meet us somewhere in this world. We're together, we should be able to open a small portal."

Olette was, for once, in the position where she had to cheer Naminè up. She herself only believed in parts of what she said, but to believe was better than giving up all hope.

"Hm, I think you're right."

It was really good to hear that from Naminè. It enforced her belief that Kairi was still somewhere out there.

Naminè took a deep breath and let Olette go. The crying had helped to put her mind at ease.

"Let's look for a portal," Olette said.

---Valiant Hearts---

Things didn't look very bright. A unknown town, nowhere to go. The fading hope that Kairi was still alive. It was as if the dark clouds of the night were showing their feelings. It was cold, but not because of night. It was her. She was missing.

"Kairi..."

Naminè still couldn't fully comprehend it. Ever since she had come to Hollow Bastion, they had been together. But Olette had said that she would see Kairi again. It wasn't a eternal farewell.

Olette looked around. Even at night, the town didn't look very pleasant. Trash in the streets, rowdy sounds from the tavern nearby, and a disgusting smell polluted the air. No question, this was not a appropriate place for two young girls. To top it off, they were injured, hungry, and exhausted, both mental and physically. Even a Keyblader couldn't go on nonstop.

"Let's find somewhere to stay for the rest of the night," Olette said, and Naminè just gave a single nod.

But without money, where would they stay? Olette had never bothered to think about it. What would they do for food and water? In such a place, a teenage girl finding work just didn't seem likely. The only choice left was nothing Olette would be proud of. But what choice did they have?

After walking through a few streets and taking a few minutes' rest on a wall, Naminè was so exhausted that she had fallen asleep. Olette had to carry her piggyback from this point on.

A bit later, Olette walked down a nasty-smelling street, not knowing what unpleasant surprise waited for them. Right before them, a whole bunch of drunkards came out a tavern. It immediately reeked of bad news, and Olette turned around and tried to get away, but one of the men called out.

" 'Ay, what two fine youn' gals we have her'..."

His voice was deep and rough. Olette ignored it and walked faster. Her muscles were aching, burning, and if she overdid it, all healing wouldn't help her regain her power.

"Hey, wait up, ye brat!" one of the pirates yelled out and started to go after the girls.

She had no chance to escape. Alone, maybe, but leaving Naminè to those bastards was out of the question. Fight them? Fighting Heartless was one thing...but fighting humans? She couldn't do that. Not in this condition anyway.

Olette wanted to run and get away from those men. The day had been long enough, longer than any day before. She'd lost Kairi, and if she lost Naminè or herself now, her will to keep walking would completely fade.

"I said, wait up, ye damn brat!" One of the men grabbed her shoulder.

He was at least two heads taller than Olette and muscular. He had a wild and rough face and was reeking very badly of alcohol.

"Leave me alone!" Olette shouted and tried to get free.

"Ah, I dun' think so, gal. We'll have some fun with yer little friend here."

Olette was desperate. Naminè was such a pure girl. If anything happened to her, if she ever met Kairi again...Olette wouldn't be able to face her. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anything happened to her.

Even if Naminè was sometimes an annoyance...she was a close friend.

"I said, let me go. If you touch her, you'll regret it."

"Heya, heard what this little bitch said? We'll regret it, ha!"

Another of the men was standing in front of Olette and looking at her. The smell of alcohol almost made Olette vomit. It was so disgusting, she almost couldn't bear breathing.

"Maybe we'll have some fun with ye first!" another one said.

The man behind her had now grabbed both her shoulders to have her stay put. It hurt, both physically because of her injuries, and mentally, because she was unable to do anything.

Seconds later, Olette could feel a rough and bulky hand on her face, then on her chest. She had never imagined what it would be like to be raped, but this was already much worse than anything she ever lived through.

Olette loathed the men. She wished the Heartless would attack and rob them of their mind. Or that she was able to fight, to kill them. Olette was on the verge of dropping Naminè, and summoning her Keyblade to hack off those dirty hands that—

One of the men, right behind her, gave off a disgusting sound. A split second later, the others drew their weapons and something fell to ground. Olette managed to look over her shoulder, and one of the men was lying on the ground next to an iron hammer that had apparently hit his face.

"That's far enough! That's no way to treat two young ladies!" A male voice came from the entrance of a nearby house. Only his silhouette was visible, but one thing was clear. He was holding a sword-like weapon.

"Who's there?! Show yerself, bastard!"

"There's no need to tell some drunkards my name."

That behavior...could it be? Jack Sparrow? But that was clearly not his voice.

"I tell ye, yer gonna regret meddling with my fun, bastard!" One of the men said, and the rest of them also drew their weapons.

Olette was released. Their attention had been drawn to the man who had obviously thrown the hammer. Not hesitating one second, Olette walked away as fast as she could. Running was no option, not like this, not while carrying Naminè. The sound of clashing swords echoed through the streets, clearly audible for Olette.

It hurt inside, hurt her pride as a fighter, that she was just running away, when someone had stood up to save her. But what if that man had had the same intentions? Was just saving them to assault them later?

Deep inside, Olette swore never to trust anyone in this town.

Minutes after, when Olette was on the verge of collapsing, the sword sounds had dried up. If they came after her and found them, there would be no escape. Olette would have no strength to even protect Naminè.

Next to her was a building for what seemed like storage. On its side was a hole in the wall, like a window without glass, right next to a bunch of chests. Olette could barely believe that something this convenient existed, but after a day full of suffering, she truly could have shed tears about this little ray of fortune.

With her last bit of power, Olette climbed the chests, still carrying Naminè, and managed to enter the building. The landing was quite rough, and her body screamed in pain, but they were finally safe.

Unable to even look for something to cover herself and Naminè, Olette leaned against the blond girl and fell asleep.

---Valiant Hearts---

It was dark around her, a deeper darkness than any night, a darkness that even devoured the light. Was she alive? Was she dead? Where was this place?

It seemed like she spent an eternity walking in the darkness, unable to feel anything, until she reached a place where a faraway light was shining. It came closer each second, and after her eyes got used to the blinding light, she gasped.

Before her stood three girls, Kairi, Naminè and Olette. All three of them smiling. She wanted to call out to them, call their names. But her voiced had dried up. Not a tune came out, not a single sound.

Desperation was grabbing her soul. The three girls were just standing there, smiling, not seeing her. Why couldn't she call out to them?!

Slowly, the light faded, and their smiles vanished. First, Kairi disappeared, leaving behind Olette and Naminè. Both of them were now showing sad faces, but getting closer. Naminè was being comforted by Olette, both of them looking as sad as a ocean of tears.

The light was getting weaker, and soon, the image vanished. Only darkness, ultimate impenetrable darkness, remained.

She wanted to cry out, to grab the last fading straw of light, but she couldn't. It was like a chain, a icy cold chain paralyzing her body.

She didn't know how long she remained in darkness, but it seemed like forever. But the pain never stopped. The pain about losing Kairi. Would the pain never stop?

Not light, but a image appeared before her. A dark image, showing something she had never wanted to see in her life.

It was Hollow Bastion, on a rainy and dark night. Most of the people she knew and had come to like were standing in a circle. She could feel the rain pouring on her, could feel a immeasurable pain...if one could lose a part of their soul, then this pain must be comparable to that.

She both wanted to look what was inside the circle and not. A inner voice was telling her not to look, to run away from this...

But before she could avert her eyes, the people before her, Aerith and Tifa, opened a window of sight for her. If she could have cried, she would've. If she could have screamed out, she would've. It was like her mind was breaking.

It was a coffin, open and decorated with flowers. Next to it, a girl was kneeling with a Keyblade. Her face was warped in pain.

She wanted to see the inside of the coffin and not. Wanted to be certain. In that moment, the girl looked back, right at where she was, and her eyes were asking just one thing.

"_Why?!_"

She could now see the inside of the coffin. In there was...

---Valiant Hearts---

It was a rainy day. The sun was hidden beneath the clouds and the ocean was fighting a eternal battle for superiority against the land. The atmosphere was dark and depressed.

Olette's eyes were frozen in shock. She could only gaze at the empty wall, unable to comprehend, unable to think, unable to move. She just sat there, staring at the wooden wall.

"Kairi..."

Something next to her moved. She finally snapped out of it. Was it...a dream?

"It's cold..."

Naminè was next to her. Naminè was really next to her. She was not...

"Olette..are you...okay?" Naminè's voice was watery, as if she were about to cry.

Was she the only one to have that dream? Olette reacted to what Naminè said by shaking her head and looking around for something to cover them up with.

Nothing much was there, but something like a cover blanket was on some boxes in the store. Olette took it, every muscle of her body aching from the day before, and gave it to Naminè.

Only then did she notice that she was shivering and half her body was partially numb from the cold. But before she could say anything, Naminè had moved really close to her, sharing the blanket.

"You must be cold too," Naminè said.

"Thanks."

It was weird. If this had happened with Kairi, Olette would have probably jumped away and boasted that she wasn't cold. Or just sat there, silent and red like a tomato. Now that she had lost her, it was quite clear that she had liked Kairi, and in a romantic way.

In the end, that had made her and Naminè rivals in love. And to share with her a blanket...it felt a bit weird, but not quite as awkward as she had been imagining.

Naminè really was close, and after Olette didn't stop shivering, she really got worried.

"Does your body still hurt?" Naminè was asking in a way that wanted an absolutely honest answer.

"I ache all over the place. My head feels like it could explode any second, and don't even mention my left arm and leg. I am icy cold for some reason, too..." Olette answered truthfully before she knew it. Why was she being so trusting? She never told anyone about when she was hurt.

Naminè could explain the aching and the injuries to herself, but the reason for the shivering must be something else.

With a sudden move, Naminè knelt before Olette, being so close to her face that Olette was short of thinking Naminè would kiss her any second. That thought wasn't really exciting her. It felt somewhat weird to even imagine it.

Naminè laid her hand on Olette's forehead and immediately took it back. Her forehead was burning. Olette must have pushed herself much too far. She had a horrible fever, and that was anything but good.

"You have a fever. A really bad one, too." Naminè really was sounding worried.

It was then that Naminè first noticed how important a friend Olette was to her. Up to now, her eyes had been glued to Kairi whenever they were together. She had never really thought about what would happen if Olette left her.

It was a sad thought, and Naminè didn't want it as much as she didn't want Kairi to leave.

"I will heal your injuries as good as possible."

"Don't push yourself, Naminè, I—"

"I will not lose you too!" Naminè suddenly yelled out, and Olette was a bit shocked.

Naminè was close to tears, and she was really surprised when she could feel Olette's hand on her head.

"Don't worry, stupid, I won't go anywhere."

Olette didn't feel weird anymore. It was still only Kairi she was interested in, but if it was Naminè, she didn't mind being this close to her.

But the fever forced its pay, and Olette started to shiver even worse than before. Naminè's surprised look changed back to a worried one, and she started to chant a healing spell. If this was all she could do, then she would at least stay by Olette, until she was well again.

The healing spell put Olette a bit at ease. The aching was much less than before, and even the pain of her arm and leg nearly disappeared. Now that the pain was gone, though, the fever made her feel even worse than before.

Naminè was not dumb and could see it too. She looked around and finally found another blanket, one that was full of dust. She shook it a bit to get rid of the dust, but that resulted only in coughing.

"Don't push yourself. A bit of a fever isn't going to kill me," Olette said, knowing well that her condition wasn't the best.

"Don't say that!" Naminè seemed a bit angry.

"I'm sorry. If...you want to help me, you can come and stay close to me. I felt a lot better with you next to me than all wrapped up in blankets alone." Olette expected to blush at asking that, or at least, Naminè to do so. But neither happened.

Naminè didn't say anything. She took the additional blanket, threw it over Olette, and crawled under it.

"I hope we find Kairi soon..."

It was like a bad dream. All of this. Lost in another world, in a town where they had neither money nor friends, without Kairi, and the Organization probably still on their trails. For now, they had to ensure their survival.

"I'm sure she's out there." Olette was trying to not think about it too much.

If Kairi really survived, that alone would be a miracle. But how would she escape the island? How would she find Olette and Naminè? This world was big, and the chances were slim that they would ever find each other. But the end was really only the end if you gave up hope.

"What are we going to do now?" Naminè was asking.

The first water drops of a upcoming storm clashed onto the roof. Dark clouds, deep as the night, were walling up to a wave, ready to swallow all light. Olette was hesitant to answer. They were lost, alone in a foreign city, and had neither food nor water.

"We'll start looking for Kairi as soon as I get better. We need something to eat. Water too. I'll organize something." Olette tried her best not to sound discouraged.

More raindrops were falling. Soon, the storm would unleash its mighty force. It got colder and Olette's shivering got worse by the moment. Naminè would be a fool to not notice it and moved even closer to her friend.

"I miss her."

She felt like that too...but who wouldn't miss a close friend...or rather...? But what use did brooding over it do? Kairi wouldn't mystically appear just because they kept their minds occupied with her.

"We'll see her soon."

It was the best Olette could do. Naminè would not stop worrying no matter what she said, but if she gave up hope, Naminè surely would break down. Right now it was most important to get a grip on themselves.

"But she isn't here now."

She knew. She _knew_, dammit! But what could she do? Anger walled up inside her, anger at herself, that she had been unable to protect her better, anger about Naminè for keeping it up. She missed Kairi too! And...anger at Kairi. Why had she stayed behind? Not told them about what condition she was in? Did she trust them only that much? It would've been better to stay together on the island than have just the two of them alone in this town.

"I know that. You don't need to tell me!"

Olette bit her lips. She didn't mean to be that harsh with Naminè, but sometimes her temper really got the better of her.

"I'm sorry...I just wanted—" Naminè couldn't finish her line.

"I know...sorry I snapped."

Olette let out a deep sigh and held her forehead. It really wasn't her day.

"At least we're still together, right?"

Naminè only gave her a nod. She wouldn't pursue the subject any further. It hurt. It hurt to be separated from Kairi. It was dark and cold without her, but she wasn't all alone. Naminè still had Olette. It was only now that she noticed how important Olette really was to her.

"I'm glad you're with me," Naminè said, before leaning on Olette and resting her head on her shoulder.

"I feel the same way."

Olette could barely express how glad she was that she wasn't alone. Back in Twilight Town, she had been all alone. Even amongst her friends, she had been all alone. Her heart had been alone, all this time.

But not anymore. Kairi was alive, Olette was sure. She had to be. And Naminè was with her. And back at Hollow Bastion...at her new home...everyone was there, waiting for her.

Rain started to pour from the skies, as to express the sadness and ordeal both of the girls had to face. Lightning roared across the sky, and thunder made the clouds tremble. Far below, in a small storehouse, two girls were sitting, snuggled up to each other.

Naminè couldn't fall asleep. Too many things were troubling her. Was Kairi really all right? When would she see her again? When could they return to Hollow Bastion? Return home?

It was hard on her, much harder than she had ever imagined. The loss of Kairi had taken its toll, and again, her tears started to flow, now silently and unnoticed. Soon after her thoughts had switched to Kairi, and the tears had begun flowing, Naminè could feel a hand on her head.

She looked up. It was Olette, who smiled at her. Despite the situation, she still smiled. Naminè secretly wanted to be as strong as Olette...but it felt good to be comforted, to have someone on your side.

It was weird, but a moment before, Olette had just wanted to join in. To let tears fall for once, to let her emotions run wild. But who would be there to comfort Naminè then? She felt like it was her obligation to do so. No...that was wrong. Not her obligation. She wanted do to it. To be there for the fragile girl.

Seconds after she stopped petting her head, Olette laid one hand on Naminè's cheek. She took a tear away and raised her head a bit.

"Don't cry. Didn't I say we find her? Don't you trust me?"

Naminè did. She trusted Olette with her life. Kairi trusted Olette, and Naminè felt, it would be betraying her own feelings to not trust her. Olette had been there for her, ever since she had come to Hollow Bastion. Ever since she had meet her.

"Will we really find her?"

"I promise we'll find her. Have I ever broken a promise I've made?"

Olette had to convince herself to believe it. Yes, they would find Kairi. At any cost.

"No. No, you didn't." Naminè finally stopped crying and a trace of hope was visible in her eyes.

"So, can you promise me something too?"

Naminè was slightly confused but gave a nod. What could Olette want from her?

"Can you promise me not to cry anymore? For Kairi's sake too."

Naminè took a deep breath and cleaned the tears from her eyes. "I'll try."

Naminè couldn't help but think that in this moment, Olette was a little bit like Kairi sometimes. It really had a soothing effect. Even if Kairi was away...as long Olette was with her, Naminè wouldn't cry anymore. She wanted to be strong too. Strong like Kairi and Olette.

"Promise?" Olette asked, still smiling.

Olette had to try so hard to smile that it was exhausting. She was just as worried about Kairi as Naminè was, and her condition didn't make it easier for her to cheer Naminè up. But from what she had learned, Naminè hadn't known anything when she came to Hollow Bastion. She hadn't known how to deal with her own feelings, with sadness, desperation and other things. Olette had to be strong, for Naminè too.

"Promise."

A short moment of silence followed, and Olette went back to letting her mind rest. Doing all this with a fever was really something.

"You're weird, Olette...I wouldn't be able to go on like this if you weren't here."

"You're the weird one, Naminè. So weird, sometimes I have no idea what you're thinking," Olette said, and burst out in a small cough. She felt awkward, but not as bad as before.

"I can't imagine just giving up. What kind of friend would do that?"

"You...you're right." Naminè shook her head. Olette was right.

An awkward silence followed, and Naminè felt like she had insulted Olette. She wanted to make it up somehow, but nothing came to mind.

"I'm so sorry I can't heal your fever...if only Aerith were here...I wish I could use magic better." Naminè sighed about her own inability.

"You're already a fine magician, Naminè." Olette started petting Naminè's head again.

It helped to put their minds off of what had caused this situation in the first place. It gave them a slight moment of ease, a short break in this never ending storm.

"As soon as I get better, we'll start searching for Kairi. I know she's out there somewhere."

Naminè nodded with a somewhat hopeful expression. It was so much easier to believe if someone at your side believed too.

Silence followed, disturbed only by the sound of Olette petting Naminè's head. Both of them had moved together, as close as they could, almost holding each other. The day was as dark as the night, and the dark clouds threw their shadow over the town and an upcoming calamity.

---Valiant Hearts---

How long had it been? Olette had fallen asleep, with Naminè leaning onto her. The rain was still pouring, and once in a while she could hear thunder.

She felt considerably better than before. Her fever must have gone down quite a bit. Was it because of Naminè? Had she cast another healing spell after she had fallen asleep? But right now the blond girl was sleeping, and Olette didn't want to wake her up. Thirst and hunger became apparent needs now, and when Naminè woke up, she would surely have the same problems.

This was a storehouse, after all. There must be something to drink at least. Food was another matter. They could survive up to a week without food. But water was a really pressing matter.

A few more minutes wouldn't kill her, though. As long Naminè was asleep, Olette had time to think everything through. They had to take measure to stay alive themselves. Had to think how to eventually escape this world. But for now, all that was important was finding shelter and securing food and water.

How long would they need to stay here? One week? Two weeks? A month? Olette had read a few books about being marooned on a island, all alone and how people survived. But how did one survive in a town without money, shelter or work? It really hurt her pride, but Olette would have to resort to really low means.

No matter how long it would be, they had to find better shelter and had to manage food and water. Only if they secured their own survival, then, they could start looking for Kairi. They had to find a way back. Being a Keyblader didn't help much in such a situation, but Naminè's magic would come in very handy, especially her ice magic. It was the easiest and most secure way to get a steady hold of water. For food...no magic in this world was capable of doing that. Shelter was a different matter, but in such a old town, there should been abandoned buildings.

"No...Kairi, don't go...Olette..."

Naminè was sleep talking. It was kind of cute, but it did seem she was having a nightmare. Naminè got rather agitated and started moving around until Olette petted her head, immediately calming her down. It took only a few more seconds until Naminè had gone back to her previous state, calm and peacefully sleeping.

---Valiant Hearts---

With the exception of how to provide food, Olette had gotten a pretty solid plan for what to do. It was a game against time. No matter how long it would take, how long they had to search, how long they would have to wait, they would find Kairi.

"Naminè, wake up."

Olette purposely said it with a soft voice, trying to not startle Naminè. It took her a few attempts until the blond girl slowly opened her eyes, looking around her confusedly. After a few moments, Naminè remembered where they were.

"Are you feeling better?"

Olette would've thought that Naminè's first question would be if there were any news at all. News about Kairi. But it seemed even Naminè was capable of not drowning herself into worries. It put Olette at ease, knowing that Naminè was not breaking down.

"Much better. Thanks to you, Naminè."

Olette again petted her head, it had become sort of a habit. She had wanted to protect Naminè, and if it was at the cost of her life. For the first time in her life, Olette felt that she finally had found something important to protect. Whatever the future held, whatever danger was lay ahead, Olette would protect her. Protect Naminè.

The rain still was coming down. Would it ever stop? Night had come, and it was as dark as the path between the worlds. They were hungry and thirsty, so Naminè started looking inside the boxes.

In most were stuff like the swill Jack Sparow had drunk on the island. At least, it smelled in the same unpleasant way. Further back Naminè had found some dried fruits and bread that was old and nasty but still edible. All they to drink was water from a barrel that was right outside and filled with rainwater, so they filled a couple of bottles with it. The previous contents of the bottles had vanished into the ground, but the water still tasted a bit like it.

"Bear with it. I know it's gross, but we shouldn't risk dehydration or hunger," Olette said, and with a deep sigh, she bit into the nasty bread.

"I would even eat Tifa's curry now..." Naminè said, and drank another bit of the water.

"You're hardcore..." Olette said, quite surprised someone wanted to eat Tifa's food.

"I'm just really hungry," Naminè said and proceeded to eat some of the bread.

"I already feel much better. I think we can start looking for a boat or some info on the island tomorrow."

Naminè gave her a nod and continued chewing in silence.

The night went by without any further events. Olette and Naminè wasted a bit of time talking about Hollow Bastion, Aerith and Tifa, and their training. Both avoided the topic of Kairi on purpose, as they both believed they would find her.

The morning was damp, but the sun had come out. Olette had once more proven that she was downright a monster and was almost over her fever.

"Thank God you didn't catch a cold or my fever. I would've felt really irresponsible," Olette said and for the first time in two days, she walked around without feeling every muscle in her body ache.

"Are you really okay? If you still feel sick, I can start looking for clues at my own," Naminé said, which immediately earned a laugh from Olette.

"I would worry about you so much in this dangerous town that I'd probably get worse by the second."

"Meanie," Naminè said and started to sulk.

"Let's first look for information on the island," Olette said, and climbed out of the window.

They had agreed on using the window as entrance to prevent people from noticing that someone was hiding in the storehouse. Olette reached her hand out to Naminè, pulling her up.

"We...should avoid the tavern and the harbor. Two girls like us will probably catch too much unwanted attention."

Olette remembered the night they had first arrived in the town. The men from the tavern that almost...if she ever saw those men again, they would find themselves on the bottom of the harbor.

"But whom do we ask?"

Even Olette was kinda lost at that. She could go to a tavern alone. Even if someone assaulted her, if Naminè was safe, she could go wild and beat them up. The training with Tifa would come in handy. But would Naminè stay put if she knew Olette was throwing herself into danger?

"I want you to stay here, Naminè. People will call you a witch if you use magic here, and it's really hard for me to protect you against a whole bunch of people. I'll go and look for some information and...organize some food."

Olette could feel her heart ache when she told Naminè indirectly that she was in the way.

"I trust you. I'll stay here, but if anything happens, come back...please."

Naminè seemed honestly worried. Olette gave her a nod and ran off.

End of Chapter XI


	12. The Bond we share

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter XII

_The Bond We Share_

Almost a week passed by without any sign of Kairi. They had found out that there were hundreds of little islands Kairi could been on. Even if they had a boat, it would take months to search them all.

Food was hard to come by. Olette had been providing it most of the time, but for the last few days, they both skipped breakfast and dinner, even if it only consisted of bread and some fruits the previous day. Living only off water was much harder than they had ever imagined.

Their hideout had been found out and they could not go back. After sleeping one night under the cold stars, they managed to find a unused stable. It was smelly but much warmer than the storehouse. They used a few empty buckets to collect rainwater. It was both luck and misfortune that it rained almost every day. Naminè caught a cold, but it would've been worse if they had stayed in the storehouse, sleeping on the bare ground.

One rainy night, Olette felt something on her face that immediately woke her up. After an incident at the storehouse in which some villagers managed to finally track her down, she never slept very deeply, always keeping one eye open. She had been wanted for stealing food and Olette had been less cautious than usual. If she was caught, there was no telling what punishment might await her. This was an age filled with pirates, after all.

Olette almost panicked when she noticed what exactly was on her face. It was tickling a bit, but different from the straw. It was more...silk-like.

The first thing she saw when opening her eyes was Naminè's face, and it was awfully close.

"What—" Olette tried to yell out, but it was too late.

They were really soft. If angels were real, theirs must feel like this too. But Olette only was startled for a second and pulled away.

"Kairi..." Naminè muttered in her feverish sleep.

"I'm so not going to tell her this..." Olette said, and touched her own lips.

Looking around, everything seemed to be okay. The stable was old but rainproof and warm. There was a base level, for horses and other animals, but there weren't any now and it looked like there hadn't been any for a long time. And there was a upper level, that served as storage for straw. It was nice and dry. Olette had piled most of it into one big huddle that the two used to sleep. They didn't need to sleep close to each other, as it was warm enough with just the straw. But they preferred to be close to each other, almost as if each feared the other would vanish if they were even a little apart.

With the days passing on, and no change in obtaining any info about Kairi, Naminè got more and more depressed, closely sticking to Olette all the time unless she was going out to secure food or trying to get a hold of some info that might be related to Kairi.

Naminè didn't look good. They both were barely eating anything, and the water—even though it was rainwater—wasn't very clear. It really was unhealthy, and they could get seriously sick if this went on.

Olette had problems of her own, more on a emotional level than everything else. For her, not finding Kairi was a horrifying thought. Or worse, finding her dead. Hope was just a faint glimmer after all this time, but there was no way she could show this side of hers to Naminè.

How long would they be able to stay alive at this rate? Or what if they really were waiting for nothing. What if...?

"I shouldn't even be thinking something like that!" Olette said to herself, and fell backwards in the straw.

Naminè really looked miserable. Each day, the hardest thing for Olette to endure was not hunger or the steadily increasing hopelessness, but the disappointed expression Naminè made when Olette could only tell her she found out nothing.

"What should I do? We can't even escape this world...we barely managed to open a portal...did we... lose our only chance of ever getting back?"

It was a horrifying thought. What if Kairi really had given up her life to bring them back just so that they could return to this dreadful world to die a slow death of starvation and hopelessness?

"Olette..." Naminè had woken up.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry, Naminè. Go back to sleep, everything is fine."

"...it's not."

Olette knew what was coming. She felt the same, but there was nothing she could do. But it must be so much harder on Naminè than it was on her.

"We still don't know where Kairi is...and she's not here."

Naminè felt sick. They hadn't eaten anything for over twenty-four hours, but she didn't feel like eating anything at all.

It was lonely without Kairi around, but she knew that Olette was trying her best. Naminè just couldn't put up a mask and pretend to be well. Her emotional condition was even worse than her body.

Naminè wasn't very robust, nothing like Olette. The current circumstances were hard on her, and it took its toll on her body.

Olette thought back. Things had taken a turn for the worse over these past days. So much so that it was hard for them not to lose faith.

---Valiant Hearts---

It was not a nice day. The days in this town had never been nice. Olette had quickly learned that this town was rough and the people in it were not very friendly to outsiders. And she was a outsider, one to this whole world. For now they had food in the storage room they used as hideout. Naminè's condition hadn't been a good one. She sometimes coughed and had a runny nose, and it wasn't rare that she shivered at night even though they were close together. Olette could only hope that Naminè wasn't getting seriously sick.

Her first checkpoint was a tavern. From the books she had read, a tavern was always a good spot to collect info. But a girl like her in a tavern in a harbor town would certainly look wrong. Well, she had no clothes to change, so there was really no helping it. Olette ruffled her hair, then took some of the mud on the ground and put it on her face, trying to look as much like a wild brat as possible.

Just seconds after she entered the tavern, one of the men inside were already on her trail.

"Hey, this ain't a place for little brats, missy." His voice was shaken by alcohol and he smelled like a stable of pigs.

"Shut up, drunkard." Olette felt weird using such foul language, but this was certainly not a place to be picky.

"What did ye say? Hey, I think this damn brat wants a real beating," the man shouted all over the noise in the tavern.

He violently grabbed Olette's shoulder—she was more than two heads shorter than he—and tried to hold her back. It was clear that he was filled with ill intent.

Olette knew that unless she made an overwhelming first strike, this would escalate in a fight. And that was the last thing she wanted.

A powerful punch in the abdomen followed by a side kick at his ribs sent the man to his knees, gasping for air.

"Don't mess with me!" Olette angrily said.

She was deep down so scared that if not for the poor light in the tavern, everyone could've seen that her legs were shaking a bit. It was just dumb luck that the man had had enough and did not try to continue the fight.

"Hey, barkeeper, I need some info."

"I'm sorry, missy, but we ain't selling no milk."

The barkeeper roared with laughter, and everyone else that heard it joined in. It was very humiliating, but Olette endured it.

"One of my friends got marooned on a island in the South Sea. Some guy named Jack Sparrow got us into the mess." Olette tried her best to sound as pirate-ish as possible, but it was a rather poor show.

The barkeeper seemed to be a nice person, though, as he didn't just send her away. Maybe it was because she had mentioned Jack Sparrow.

"There are hundreds of islands in the South Sea, missy. If ye ain't got the coordinates, you've no chance of ever finding her. If she's alive, anyway."

Olette bit her lip. Hundreds? Maybe a map would help, but the only thing she knew was the size of the island and that there was nothing else around it as far as the eye could see. This was much worse than she had imagined.

"Many thanks," Olette said, and was on her way out.

"Next time you come, I'll make sure to have some milk for ye," the barkeeper shouted after her. Yet again more than half of the tavern broke out in laughter.

Her search was not very effective. The taverns all had little but no time for her problems, and some people even reacted angrily and sent her away when she mentioned Jack Sparrow. The first day of searching was a complete failure. What would she tell Naminè?

The blond girl was waiting patiently in the storehouse, and Olette's first task when she got back was to eat some of the bread that almost tasted good after that hard a day.

"Did you find anything out, Olette?" Naminè asked in a hopeful tone.

"...I'll have more luck tomorrow! I promise." Olette said, completely avoiding an answer, but feeling guilty when Naminè made a sad expression and let out two small coughs.

She had found out nothing. They went to sleep, and tired as Olette was, she slept like a rock. The next morning was the same as before, rainy and dark. Olette awoke before Naminè, which seemed weird to her.

Naminè didn't look too good either. Olette was scared of the thought that Naminè might get sick. She was physically much more robust than Naminè, so she could do with a fever. But for the frail girl...

They ate some of what they had found—bread again—and Olette left to continue her search.

Nothing. People were unwilling to help, and even if someone was, in a rare case, they could not tell her anything useful. There were too many unmapped islands in the South Sea. It was a hopeless undertaking.

Another thing was on her mind. Food. Olette knew that just living off bread would not work, especially if Naminè was showing signs of getting sick. It was hard to admit, but no one would let her work. She was too young, and even if she had enough strength to work on the harbor, they wouldn't let her. There was only one choice left.

"I will go to hell for this," Olette muttered to herself, but she too didn't want to eat the old bread anymore. It was not good for their bodies.

Not too far away from their hideout was something like a grocery shop. Many people were going in and out, and after a while, Olette had figured out a blind spot. She waited just when someone was going to pay and hid herself beyond a shelf. She would only take a little, enough for herself and Naminè.

She grabbed a few apples and oranges, then sneaked away. Nobody suspected anything, as she hid the fruits under her clothes. They got a bit dirty, but that was nothing they couldn't solve with a bit of water.

"I got us something to eat," Olette said, giving Naminè two apples and a orange, leaving a apple for herself.

"Did you find out anything?" Naminè repeated her question as before but with much less enthusiasm this time.

"...I'm sorry. Eat the apples, they're good. You should wash them before, though." Olette knew that Naminè was needing the fruits more than she did.

"Why do you only have one apple?" Naminè was curious, looking at how Olette was having so much less than she was.

"I ate a orange and an apple already on the way." It was such a blatant lie that even Naminè would notice. Her smile, her expression, they were all fake.

"Okay, then. Thank you, I'm really sick of the bread," Naminè said and turned around.

Naminè knew that Olette was lying, but not why. To have other food was good, but Olette lying to her hurt. Also, there were no news of Kairi. She missed the redhead more, each day her hope shrinking that she would see her again.

But...Olette was still there with her. It was really painful that Olette felt the need to lie to her, but at least, she would not leave her.

The night passed as usual, Olette again waking up before Naminè. They always slept leaned onto each other, but this morning, Naminè was lying on the ground, looking really pale.

Naminè was sweating and breathing weird. She looked really sick and her head was burning. Even worse, Olette dreamed of Kairi that night, and now the reality of her being gone for good sank even deeper inside her.

"Naminè, how are you feeling?"

Olette was worried. It was past noon, probably, and Naminè had only woken up now. She could only tell when she asked someone on the street, as she was unfamiliar with this region's day and night shifts.

"I'm...okay. Olette, will you...look for Kairi? I...miss her so much." Naminè seemed really weak. More than usual. And even worse, now that Naminè was showing signs of being affected by Kairi's absence, she had to hurry.

But could she really leave a sick girl alone? Naminè was needing some vitamins, but there was only so much she could do. Olette would need to go to the shop again.

"I will look for some clues. Please stay here, don't move, and sleep some." Olette had used two boxes as windshield, and Naminè had the blanket for her alone, providing some warmth.

It was probably only a cold, but Olette could only imagine what might happen next.

It was easy, just as the day before, to get some fruits. It was stealing. A crime. But what choice did she have?

Looking for Kairi had proven to be so hopeless that she ignored it for today and went straight back to the storehouse. For now, Naminè was important to her too.

"Did you find out anything?" Naminè asked, as if Olette had been gone for hours and not just a little more than half a hour.

"I think I might have a clue," Olette lied, hoping to make Naminè feel better.

"Don't lie to me, please," Naminè said, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry...but...it's much harder than I thought. And I can't leave you alone," Olette said, kneeling down next to Naminè, hugging her.

"Don't worry about me. We just need to find Kairi and everything will be okay..." Naminè seemed really out of it.

"I...no..._we_ will find her. I promise." Olette realized how much she truly missed Kairi.

But...just how much hope was there? The last she saw of Kairi was beyond a gateway, on a gigantic freezing platform, left with injuries and exhausted to the point where she couldn't move. Was...she really alive? And was there any hope to find her...in time?

They spent the rest of the day resting, Olette quietly watching over Naminè, as she had demanded that Naminè sleep as much as possible to recover.

The night was cold, but Olette endured it for the sake of Naminè. Three days had passed since they arrived. Three days, and they still had no clue where Kairi was.

Naminè seemed much better in the morning, but Olette didn't let her get up yet. One more day. Just one more day to rest and Naminè could get up again. At least that was what Olette was thinking. Naminè refused to to sleep if Olette was not next to her. It was a irresponsible request, even Naminè knew that, but it was really hard to be alone all the time.

Naminè's condition got better, but only slowly and only on a physical level. She clung more and more to Olette, similar to how she had done with Kairi in the beginning. Olette didn't mind, as it was soothing for her too to have company in this, the worst of situations.

It was the fifth day that would turn over their whole situation. Olette was on her way back when she thought that someone was following her. But wouldn't they just run after her and get her?

She turned around, but there was nothing.

It had to be her imagination. After all, she really was worn out by continuously stealing and the feelings of remorse that came with it. No matter what, stealing wasn't right, but Olette cared more for Naminè than for some shop owner.

Naminè didn't ask anymore. She understood that Olette had not given up on Kairi but had given up on finding info on her while she, Naminè, was sick.

Again, they spent the day without talking much. It was really cold when Naminè got up on her own, leaning onto Olette, to share the blanket. It was so obvious that Olette was freezing that Naminè couldn't bear it anymore, even though there was a chance that Olette could sick, too.

"But—"

Naminè cut her off, laying a finger on her lips. "No buts," she said, almost immediately falling asleep after that.

Olette smiled to herself for a bit, then petted Naminè's head. Maybe Naminè wasn't as weak as Olette thought she was.

Soon, the brunette also fell asleep. It was tiring to keep watch over Naminè, steal food, and even to think about what they would do next. Olette really missed Kairi, and she did need her now more than ever.

The night was quiet as usual, only disturbed by sounds from a nearby tavern. Olette never could sleep very well in these times. She woke up when some scratching sound was on the front door. She had built up a few boxes in front of it in case someone were to attack them.

From the sound of it, outside were numerous people. Olette got up, trying not to wake up Naminè, and found herself eavesdropping through the thin wooden wall.

"Ye sure she's in there?" a rough voice asked.

Olette didn't know who the voice belonged to.

"That dirty lil' food thief is gonna meet 'er end. The stuff in there ain't owned by nobody anymore, so let's just burn it down and to hell with her." The person who said this was enraged—and this voice was familiar too. It was the owner of the shop!

Olette had heard enough. She stepped back from the wall, trying to avoid any sound, and took Naminè piggyback. It would take too long to wake her up.

"What would Kairi do? Fight the people? No...Kairi would never harm uninvolved people. But if I take the window, they will get me and Naminè. Leaving her alone and surrendering won't solve anything either..."

Olette was rather desperate, even summoning Circle of Life as last countermeasure. But wait...would those people even notice if they made an attempt to escape? Olette had little choice and trusted her instincts. With one brutal swing, the back wall burst, and in the same moment, a bright light shone in from outside. The front had been set on fire.

It was a wink of luck that they didn't notice the bursting sound of the wall. Olette escaped, carrying Naminè, and dematerialized Hero's Crest, running as fast as she could. For now, they had to escape, no matter where to. Naminè was sick, so it was highly unlikely that she would wake up.

Olette only stopped when there was nothing but darkness around her anymore. She had long left the town, and had not stopped running for another ten minutes at full power. Her legs were still shaking when she finally slowed down. Naminè had just regained consciousness and Olette let her down, herself sinking in the wet grass, unable to stand.

"Olette...what happened? And...where are we? It's so dark..."

"They...found our hideout and wanted to burn us alive...we barely escaped." Olette was dead tired.

"But why? Did we do something bad?" Naminè asked, not knowing that it was only Olette they wanted.

"We're outsiders. It's only natural to want us gone. We're somewhere outside the town...up ahead is a forest, we should rest there for the night." Olette was biting her lip. Just how often had she lied to Naminè in the past few days?

"I don't understand...can't we go back?"

Olette shook her head, letting out a sigh. It was impossible. Completely burned down. But how would she tell Naminè they had wanted her head for stealing? The worst part was that she had gotten Naminè involved.

Naminè seemed to feel that something was wrong and asked away.

"Olette? You look...really pale."

Olette just shook her head, unable to say anything. She picked Naminè up yet again and slowly walked over to the trees.

It was true, Olette didn't feel well. She had not eaten anything but old bread and a few fruits for days, slept in miserable conditions and had been out in the rain for hours in the past days. Olette was at her limit. Running like that for over ten minutes was too much for her. She felt sick and her breath was still going at a alarming rate.

Only a bit further, Olette could see now that her eyes had gotten used to the darkness, was the border of a forest. In there, the wind wouldn't be as strong, and perhaps they could find a dry spot.

"What now?" Naminè was asking, sitting next to Olette.

"Now...a place to sleep..." Olette just couldn't regain her breath.

"The town is dangerous...I guess we can't go back." Naminè didn't know what had happened, but if the villagers had wanted to burn them alive, they must've been really mad.

"Let's just...sleep under a tree. Little choice there. There is a forest close by."

Olette's vision was blurred and it took her a lot of effort to force it clear as she tried not to pass out.

Naminè felt sick, but out of the two, she could at least walk, unlike Olette, who was looking like she would collapse any second now. It was now time for her to fight too and ignore the horrible nausea when moving and help Olette, who had helped her all this time.

"_Herder of the Travelers, I beg of you, grant us your blessing. Give us the power to reach our destination, to reach the place we desire!"_

It was just a simple cure spell, and it wasn't useful for battle-orientated use. It was rather effective if only used to walk another mile or two.

Olette could feel some of her pain being relieved, but it still was hard to stand up. Naminè herself had to fight with a stringing pain in her head that came from the mental exhaustion of using a spell in these conditions.

"Save your magic...let's go over there," Olette said, grabbing Naminè's hand. Both of them leaning onto each other, they walked towards the dark forest.

They did not waste energy on talking; instead they looked for a place to spent the night. They walked more than five minutes since they entered the thick forest, and finally found a suitable tree with a big crest.

Olette leaned onto the trunk and sank down, barely keeping consciousness. Naminè was next to her, leaning on Olette rather than on the tree.

"I'm so tired..." Olette suddenly got depressed, thinking about Naminè's condition. "I'm sorry we don't even have a blanket or anything..."

"I'll be fine." Naminè forced herself to smile. "As long you're next to me, Olette."

Olette blushed for a moment, slightly embarrassed, then laid a arm around Naminè, trying to share as much body warmth as possible.

"Good...night," both of them said, falling asleep halfway. Morning was only a few hours away.

The night passed in a wink, and the morning did not hold any change. They both continued to sleep, exhausted to no end, and the day, almost as dark and cold as the night, came quickly to an end.

Olette slowly woke up, sore from sleeping out in the cold. It hurt to move at first, but the pain wasn't as bad as before. First thing was to check on Naminè.

She seemed to be in pain, which was not very surprising, given her illness and that they had slept under the stars with nothing but themselves to warm them up.

"Naminè, wake up!" Olette slapped her face softly while talking to her.

Opening her eyes a bit, Naminè looked at Olette, smiling, then coughing. At least she was conscious. That was a huge relief.

"How are you feeling? Give me a honest answer, okay?" Olette said with a smile on her lips.

"Terrible," Naminè said, slowly remembering where they were and what had happened.

"We need to find a proper place to spend our nights and for you to rest. I feel better, so I'll carry you."

Naminè just gave a nod, still sleepy and unable to give a proper answer. She just wanted to sleep some more.

Olette picked up Naminè so she could carry her on her back. Now worried at how light the blond girl was, she started walking. She could only guess where the forest ended, but Olette remembered that they came from the direction she had faced when she woke up.

"Will we be okay?" Naminè asked, trying not to be too much of a burden to Olette.

"I'll find us someplace to stay."

Somewhere near the borders of the town would be ideal, so that they wouldn't cause too much of a commotion if they were sighted.

Naminè fell back asleep after hearing that Olette was looking for a place to stay. Olette was grateful for that. It was tiring to talk and think at the same time, and she had to think about a lot of things. Most important right now was to find a place to spend the the night.

The town was terribly quiet. There were noises, sure, but not the kind two girls at night wanted to hear. The short distance to the harbor must have had a bad influence on this district.

She continued walking, looking for any building they could use for shelter, but Olette had little choice. In the end, she was limited to where she could go.

If they were thinking she had burned to death, then that was fine. They would not track her down. The matter of food was something that was still giving her a headache. Stealing would lead to a similar situation as before.

How much time had passed since they had gotten back in town? The continuous dark sky and rain had made her lose all feeling of time. It was like this town was cursed.

They were almost at the end of the street, near the wall that was surrounding the city, when Olette found something promising.

A abandoned building. It was big, much too big to be a house, and too far away from the harbor to be a depot for goods. The front door was locked, but the lock itself was old and rusty, which was a good sign. No one had entered the building for a long time.

Looking for a way to get to its back, Olette found a hole in the fence, not too far away. It was time to wake up Naminè, as she couldn't carry her through this. Using her Keyblade would inevitably draw attention, and it also would open the door for just anyone.

"Naminè...wake up," Olette said, still carrying her, standing in front of the fence.

"Hm...what...where...?" Naminè was still out of it.

It took her a few minutes to fully open her eyes. Olette let her down, but took her hand in exchange. Naminè, being sick and sleepy, was a bit unstable but managed not to fall.

"Where are we?" Naminè started to look around, then looked at the big building slightly to the right.

"The outskirts of the town, at the edge of the harbor district, I guess," Olette answered, then pointing over to the abandoned building.

"Looks abandoned...I'm not sure what this was, but we can't be picky." Olette drew Naminè closer to herself, taking a deep breath.

"Olette? What are you—" Naminè was surprised. Olette seemed really tired.

"Nothing. I'm okay. Let's take a look. I had to wake you up since if something is in there, I won't be able to protect you if I'm carrying you." Olette was considering that bandits or robbers used this place as hideout, even if it was unlikely.

"I'll be okay." Naminè smiled even though she was not feeling well.

It was not right to always rely on Olette and not give anything back. If anything, Naminè would not show how ill she felt, even if it only lightened up Olette's mood a bit.

Olette just gave a nod, summoned Circle of Life, and crawled through the hole. Naminè followed shortly after, without Keyblade. It was a mental burden for now, and she would only summon it if they were attacked.

They didn't speak a word, trying to be as quiet as possible, and slowly walked over to the building. There was no light, no sound, nothing.

Rumbling. The sky was in turmoil. Soon, the neverending rain would pour down again. They had to hurry; staying out in the rain would gravely worsen Naminè's condition.

The back doors were wide open. Olette took a peek inside, ready to strike at whatever would wait for them.

But there was nothing. Just dust, dust from a long time of no living being entering the place. No sign of anyone living there.

Olette didn't let her guard down. She looked in every corner and had Naminè stand by at the back door.

Nothing. Just more dust. Even on the level above, there was nothing but a enormous pile of straw. For once, luck was with them.

"Naminè, can you come up here?" Olette deemed it safe and dematerialized her Keyblade.

A bit later, they checked every corner again. It was indeed an old stable, but there hadn't been any animals here for a long time. It was wind and waterproof and even a bit warm. They decided to use the straw to sleep on, since it would also give them the advantage of not being found immediately if anyone would enter the building.

Olette and Naminè laid down in the straw, tired and exhausted, almost instantly falling asleep. Olette had embraced Naminè, not caring anymore if she too got sick.

"I'll do everything to protect you," was the last thing Olette whispered before following Naminè in the land of dreams.

---Valiant Hearts---

Rain was hammering on the roof and thunder was roaring across the sky. It had been like this for the past few days, as if illustrating how the girls were feeling. It had been hard on both of them, physically and emotionally.

Without a word, Olette crawled over to Naminè, hugged her, and petted her head. She had done this often in the last few days, and even though it first had felt weird and Naminè had been a bit awkward, they both were able to calm down like this.

Minutes passed, and Naminè thought Olette had fallen asleep, holding her like this. Even though it wasn't Kairi who was doing this, she felt that Olette had gotten just as important to her as Kairi was.

Naminè wasn't sure how she should feel about Olette. It was clearly different than how she felt about Kairi, but...

"Say, Naminè...what would you do if someone else liked Kairi?"

Hadn't Olette fallen asleep? And what was with that question?

"Everyone likes Kairi. What do you mean?"

Olette started petting her head again. It had somehow a soothing effect on both of them.

"I don't mean that. I mean...what would you do if someone else loved Kairi?"

Naminè knew what love was. Back in Hollow Bastion, Olette had once explained to her the difference between like and love. But it had never crossed her mind that someone else could fall in love with Kairi.

"I don't know. Would that be so bad?" Naminè just never thought about it.

What would she do? It didn't seem like a big deal if someone else liked Kairi. Did it really matter that much?

"Imagine if Kairi stopped liking you, even stopped being your friend, just because she liked someone else." Olette felt horrible suggesting such a thing, even more so, since she was the one that came to like Kairi too. "Would you hate that person?"

Olette tried her best to not let her voice tremble. If not for the warm straw and Naminè in her arms, she would've surely been shaken by the fear of what Naminè might say now.

"I don't know...if that person took Kairi away from me...I guess I would hate her."

Olette almost bit her tongue. What should she do? It was good Naminè was a bit dense, so it was rather unlikely that she would find out. But...what should she do? Olette now long knew she was clearly attracted to Kairi. She had even been jealous about the kiss between Kairi and Naminè.

"But..."

Naminè didn't know how to say it. She could feel Olette tremble, and her heart beating like crazy. She was clearly afraid. Even Naminè was not that dense, and it was obvious that her words had caused Olette to act like that. At the same moment she had said it, the brunette had also stopped petting her head.

What if she was right and Olette really was in love with Kairi? After all...on the island...

Naminè was confused. Was it really that bad if Olette was in love with Kairi? She wouldn't snatch Kairi away and leave her all alone, right? Her head felt like it was melting, like it was on fire, and Olette seemed freezing. Was it just her imagination, or did Olette seem to be gritting her teeth?

"If it was you...I...I think I wouldn't hate the person. You are important to me, too. And you wouldn't just take Kairi from me. You are not a bad person like that."

For a second, the wheels in Olette's head were standing still. Did Naminè really say that? Was it that she had caught a fever too and was hallucinating? If so, then...

"You mean you wouldn't get mad if I were to like Kairi too?"

Naminè was silent for a moment, trying to sort out her inner conflict. Shouldn't she get bad feelings? Be jealous that someone else was hoping for Kairi to respond to her feelings? But there was nothing like that.

"Do you love Kairi?" Naminè just didn't know what to say and went just bluntly saying what she was thinking.

Olette couldn't answer. Naminè had become really important to her and if admitting love meant for those two to end their friendship, she would rather give up on Kairi. Olette couldn't lie to Naminè. Not about this, not now.

"I think I do." Olette could have slapped herself.

Awkward silence filled the room, only disturbed by the rain and thunder. It seemed like a eternity had passed when Naminè gave out a sigh. Olette was short of snapping and taking back what she had said.

After all the time she had spent around friends, yet being all alone that time, she had finally found two people who were really important to her. And one of them seemed so far away that it hurt. And it was not just Kairi that was far away.

"I...I..." Olette could not even speak properly anymore. Cold sweat on her forehead, her body frozen stiff.

"Say, Olette...why is it that Kairi can only like one of us?"

Naminè had thought of it before, but not talked about it. It had been on her mind for some time now, starting with the night on the island when Olette had been acting really weird. Why did they have to choose? Why couldn't they be together? Naminè didn't want to lose either, not Kairi and not Olette.

"I can't really explain it, but..." Olette was a bit out of it, simply because she still had to fight with her inner fear of being rejected as a friend now.

"It's special to love someone. You can't just love two people. I would say, it's impossible..."

Naminè moved a bit, Olette let her loose as soon as she noticed it, but instead of moving away, which was what Olette was afraid of, she just rolled over, still as close to Olette, but now with her back to her.

Olette was startled when she felt something soft on her hand. At first she thought it was a mouse or something, but it was much softer and...it was holding her hand.

"I don't want to choose between Kairi and you," Naminè said, holding tight onto the hand of her friend.

---Valiant Hearts---

Darkness. All around him. There was nothing but darkness. No wind, not even air. No sound, not even that of his own breath. Eternal darkness, thick enough to not see one's own hands even if they were held right before one's face. No horizon, just a vast nothingness.

"Ironic, that this is to be the true nature of us, who seek to regain their hearts."

In front of him was a huge white gate, and beyond its open doors was the unfathomable darkness, a power equal to that of Kingdom Hearts. If one were to step through this gate, both death and immeasurable power would await.

"Why did you call us, Superior?"

Xigbar, kneeling a few meters behind the man he spoke to, was shaken by fear that Xemnas had discovered what he was hiding.

_Zexion's research_. The artificial creation of Nobodies. Tempering with a power, alien and incalculable.

Left to him was Luxord, who had been beaten badly by the Keyblader. His face was warped in anger, something Xigbar had never seen on the usually calm Gambler of Fate. He had been ordered to collect hearts; yet, he failed and even got beaten. The screams of Luxord when Xemnas had punished him were engraved in Xigbar's head.

One place further left was Saix, calm and uncaring as ever. If something was as dangerous as what laid beyond the gate, then it was Saix. Three days ago, he had obliterated a world called the Land of Pride. A whole world. Xigbar was powerful, but far from that level. Saix was a monster.

Right to him, and he squeezed his eyes when he looked at him, was Xaldin. If Saix was a monster, Xaldin was the tamer with the whip that let the beast dance and destroy everything in its path. He was cruel, as uncaring as Saix, and coldly calculated the death of his opponents using both comrades in arms and enemies to his advantage. Fighting with Xaldin was just as bad as fighting against him.

Right next to Xaldin, there was Demyx, the biggest mystery out of all these weirdos. Xigbar couldn't follow anything he said or anything he was thinking. Even his actions were contradictory and unbelievable. He had fought with the sorceress from Hollow Bastion on equal grounds. But ever since he came back, he had changed. It seemed like insanity had taken over him completely.

All of them were kneeling in a half-circle behind Xemnas, as he had summoned them.

"We will abandon the plan of using the Keyblader to collect hearts. We will seize the hearts ourselves."

Xigbar first thought he was saved when he understood the extent of what Xemnas had just said.

"What do you mean, Xemnas?" It was Xaldin who first stood up and took a step forward.

In a mere instant, Xemnas had whirled around and where previously had been Xaldin's left arm, there was a huge gap of nothingness in his body.

Xigbar's mind was blank and empty. Xemnas...had just killed Xaldin. On a whim. In less than a second. He didn't even notice how he killed him. It was too fast for even him, despite his sniper-like eyes.

Even worse, nobody seemed to mind. Luxord didn't even notice, Demyx didn't care and Saix's expression was as frozen as ever.

"Xigbar."

It was his turn. He would be killed next. Xemnas must've turned insane. He would kill them all. And there was no hope of escape. It was further than one hundred feet to the gate and Xemnas had killed Xaldin in a instant.

The said person had collapsed and was lying on the ground, probably already dead. Blood was flooding out of his body and there were no signs of life. His heart must have been gone, along with his arm and half of his chest.

He could not fight against him. His body wouldn't move. The blood was surrounding his feet, his knees. Xaldin's blood. He had not liked him, but to cold-bloodedly kill one of his subordinates without any warning...that was completely beyond anything he had ever seen.

How would Xemnas strike? How would he attack? Was there any chance of escape?

To make it worse, neither Saix, Luxord or Demyx seemed to notice that they were in danger.

"Xigbar, you..."

---Valiant Hearts---

The rain was cold, and she was freezing. They were hungry, and Olette had no choice but to resort again to the means of a criminal. She had been stealing food for a few days now, but she would not tell Naminè. This burden, she had to shoulder alone.

But luck was on her side. She only passed the harbor by accident, and a ship was loading provisions for a voyage. Only two guards, but who would expect a thief to come in this pouring rain? Olette had somewhat overcome her inner scruples to steal. If she didn't, they had to starve, and in Naminè's condition, that could prove to be fatal.

They didn't seem to be heavily armed, and the rain was pouring down, limiting their sight and hearing. Olette didn't waste any time and had already sneaked behind one of the guards. Luckily, he was standing near a building. He didn't notice Olette until he felt a brutal blow on his neck and lost consciousness. It was all but honorable to assault someone from behind, but Olette didn't care.

The other guard didn't notice and while Olette positioned the unconscious guard on the ground, she spotted a one of the bigger boxes not too far away.

Not looking inside, Olette took the box, and with all her might, loaded it onto her back before running for it.

Luck had left her in that very moment, as the other guard went to check on the first guard and noticed Olette. Drawing a gun, he opened fire and chased after the girl. About a round bullets later, he had lost her, due to the poor visibility in the rain.

In a dark side-alley, more than five minutes nonstop running away from the harbor, Olette allowed herself to calm down, take a breath and finally look inside the box.

What luck. The box was filled with cured meat, flat-bread and dry fruits. She must have hit the best box there was. This would last for at least a few days. Now that the adrenaline was gone, Olette felt her mind going fuzzy. Pain was suddenly occupying her left arm. Looking on it, a line of blood was running down from about her upper arm. A stray bullet wound. At least she had not been shot, but she could barely move her arm now that she felt the pain.

It was nothing compared to when she had fought the man from the Organization, but it really was bad. Ripping some cloth from her shirt that was completely soaked anyway, she applied a first aid bandage. It hurt a lot to do it herself, and she surely would not be able to fight the next few days with this arm.

Olette took the box back on her back. Thank God it was even darker than usual thanks to the rainstorm so no one was likely to notice her.

The pain was overwhelming. Blood ran down her arm even though she had applied a bandage. But what did she expect? For someone with a small frame like hers, carrying a huge box like that was usually impossible. She only was able to do it due to her training with Tifa. A few times she had to stop, her mind going blank and almost falling over. She must've lost a lot of blood already.

It was already the fourth time when she had to stop. Olette had barely set the box on the ground when she fell and would have hit the ground if she hadn't clung to the box at the last minute. When she looked down, there was blood on the ground. But her arm hadn't touched the ground. Where did it come from?

It was running down her leg. Had a bullet hit her? But there was no huge pain like in her arm. Olette needed to know, rolled up one of her pants legs and found the cause of the blood. Another stray bullet wound...just how many times had she been hit? But the wound didn't seem to be as bad as on her arm. The bullet must've barely hit her. It was bleeding a bit, but the pain was rather small. She had to make it back fast. Ripping yet another piece of cloth from her shirt, Olette applied a tight bandage on her leg—so tight that it hurt to move it even a inch. But it did seem to stop the bleeding for the moment.

Back up went the box. It was only one more street till the stable. She was soaked and exhausted. She had lost a lot of blood and was injured. If not for her willpower, she would've passed out long ago. But one thing kept her going. One important thing.

"Naminè...I'm almost there."

But for now, it was clearly Olette that was in the worse condition. They had no means of disinfecting her wounds, nor real first aid. Would Naminè be able to use healing magic? Olette had faith in her.

The warm atmosphere of the stable, the smell of straw—she finally was at home. Home was where her friends were. And for now, Naminè was here.

Hiding the box in one of the horse boxes that were located directly below the platform above, Olette ascended up the ladder and looked for Naminè.

Was she sleeping? Olette looked through the straw.

She was not there. That couldn't be. There was no sign of a intruder. Was her mind playing pranks? Olette looked more carefully, but it didn't change the result. Naminè was gone.

"That idiot must've gone and looked for me!" Olette whispered to herself, and stood up.

Her vision was blurred and her mind blank. Was Naminè okay? She had to look for her. Had to find her. If something had happened to her, how would she be able to face Kairi?

But it was too much. Olette could not feel her legs, could not move. The few seconds she was still able to stand seemed like a desperate eternity. Was this the end? Was this empty dark feeling of failure what Kairi felt when the portal closed? That couldn't be...it could not just end like this...

"Naminè...where are you...?" were her last words before everything went dark.

---Valiant Hearts---

Roaring drums in her head, a familiar sound. The rain was a heavy as ever, and the occasional thunder was like a gong being rung in her head. Slowly waking up, Naminè first looked to see if she could spot Olette. Naminè was still sick, unable to do any magic, and barely able to do other things like walking around, so she was heavily dependent on Olette.

She wasn't there. Naminè assumed that she had gone to look for something to eat. Food. It made her realize that her throat was terribly dry. They used a set of buckets to collect rainwater, as Naminè was too weak to use ice magic to provide water.

But the bucket up here was empty. Olette must have forgotten to change them. Looking at the empty bucket, Naminè first realized with how much Olette had to put up recently. She wasn't of any help and Olette brought food, cared for her, protected her...she really had grown important to Naminè.

She had little choice but to get some water herself. Slowly climbing down the ladder, carrying the empty bucket with her, Naminè walked over to the back gate. They could not close it, due to a lack of doors, but it was a welcome breeze of fresh, even cold, air.

The other bucket was standing next to the door. Leaving the empty one in the rain, Naminè used a cup Olette had brought back one day to drink some water. It wasn't delicious but it was enough for her.

Naminè sated her thirst and looked at the sky that was filled with dark rain clouds. Olette really was amazing. Ever since they had come here, Olette had seem so reliable. Naminè asked herself how Olette managed to keep going even though Kairi was gone and their situation was this bad.

Some time passed. Naminè had no feeling for time in her condition, so she silently looked at the clouds, soothing her mind with the sound of rain coming down. She wasn't really thirsty but her throat was dry again, so she drank some more water. She switched the buckets afterwards so she could take the full one back with her.

It would be a hassle to get it up the ladder, as the full bucket was proving rather heavy to carry for a sick girl, but Naminè wanted to surprise Olette.

Naminè finally reached the top, exhausted and tired, the bucket standing next to her. There was something wet on the ground. Did she spill the water? Looking down, Naminè almost screamed.

Blood. A big stain of blood, going over to the place they used to sleep. A thief? A burglar?

Naminè summoned Monochrome, slowly walking into the direction where the bloodstain stopped. Long before she reached the place, Naminè could see the one who had caused the stain.

"_Olette!_" Naminè yelled out. Letting go of Monochrome, she ran over to where her best friend lay, not moving.

"Olette, open your eyes, please!" Naminè knelt next to the brunette, rolling her over. Her clothes were soaking wet, her trousers blood-stained, her shirt ripped to pieces.

"What happened, Olette?! Olette, hey!" Naminè tried shaking her, breaking out in cold sweat. What should she do? Just what should she do? They had no medicine, no first aid kit, nothing.

Olette didn't move. Her breathing was faint, but it was still there. Naminè buried her face in her hands, unable to do anything.

"What...what should I do?"

Her voice was trembling. Her whole body was shaken by the thought that Olette might die. Panic filled her head, blocking off every single rational thought. All she could do was sit there and watch the unmoving Olette slowly bleeding to death.

Naminè couldn't bear the thought that she might lose another important person. She wanted to run away. To run so far away, that she would never need to see this again. This horrifying image of Olette, wounded and on the verge of death.

Naminè, trying to get away, stumbled over her legs, falling back over. In front of her lay something that she totally forgot. That was right.

She wasn't just a powerless girl. She had healed Olette before. Her condition was much worse than before, but that couldn't be helped. Olette had taken care of her for several days, and now it was her turn.

It was hard to concentrate and even harder to get the recitation right, but unless she brought in something very powerful, she didn't know what would happen to Olette.

"_You, who governs over life and death, commands creation and destruction, decides fate and destiny, the bringer of new lives and the reaper of the soul, I call upon you, Adamantia. Grant me the power to save the life of one important to me. Grant me the power to overcome that which is the fate of all who live."_

Nothing happened. Did she fail? Naminè had never used this particular recitation before. When tears of desperation showed in her eyes, something moved. From Monochrome, a green light was flowing onto Olette. Her breathing immediately resumed and Olette gasped once, but she did not regain consciousness. Naminè, at the same time, could feel both her arm and leg hurting and the pain was overwhelming. Her mind almost went blank, and only looking at how Olette got better and better by the second helped her to stay conscious.

It was a very powerful recitation Naminè had learned from Aerith as last resort to save others. It put a high strain on her body and mind, and if not for her determination to save Olette, she would've failed and both of them died.

Olette curled around, gritting her teeth. This was her limit. Naminè could not put up with this any longer, and both her will and the spell broke. She lost consciousness and fell in the straw, Monochrome dematerializing itself.

Silence but for the drumming of the rain on the roof fell over the room like a iron curtain. It took several minutes until Naminè finally moved, only a twitch.

Would Olette make it? Naminè was not sure. She couldn't see anything, she could barely think. Now she knew why Aerith had told her not to use that recitation unless it was absolutely the only way to save one of the others. Her arm and leg was still hurting but it didn't feel like she was bleeding herself.

Naminè slowly opened her eyes, seeing Olette next to her. She was still unconscious, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. Naminè was sure that that wasn't enough to heal Olette's wounds. She would have to stay here the next days.

It took Naminè all her remaining power to crawl over to where Olette lay.

Naminè only had one thing on her mind. Just one single thing. She wanted Olette to pet her head, like she had done in the past days, whenever she didn't feel good. It really had become a soothing action to her.

Naminè, now laying next to Olette, could not move anymore. Her fever was still there, and her head was burning. The mind all fuzzy, and vision blurred. If only Olette would finally wake up.

But she didn't. Was she...no. Naminè refused to believe it. Just laying next to Olette, like a loyal dog waiting for its owner to get up, Naminè lost consciousness again.

---Valiant Hearts---

Was she dead? Was this heaven? Around her was bright light, and there was a warm feeling on her skin, as if the summer sun was shining on her. Below her, an immeasurably vast grass field stretched out before her, covering the ground as far as the eye could see. Above her, fluffy white clouds floated in a heavenly blue sky. This really had to be heaven.

She could feel sorrow welling up, sorrow, about never seeing her friends again, never talking to them again, never feeling their bodies next to hers. Falling on her knees, she started to cry. It seemed like a eternity until her tears stopped and only sadness remained. The grass around her had died, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the air smelled of blood.

And with one instant, unbearable pain ran through her body. Pain so strong that she wished she would die on the spot. But death didn't embrace her, no, the pain kept getting stronger, driving her insane. She curled over in the withered grass, screaming out in agony, and finally the pain was so strong her mind broke.

Darkness. Around her, everything was dark. Her body hurt. The pain was still there. Had she been taken from heaven to hell, and this was her punishment? But...

She opened her eyes a little bit, slowly getting used to seeing anything again, and she managed to analyze the position she was in. Looking up, she saw directly in a familiar face.

It was Naminè.

"You're awake, you're finally awake, Olette!" Naminè said, tears in her eyes.

So, that naive frail girl had treated her injuries and even saved her life. It wasn't a dream.

"Yes, thanks to you." Olette was sure that if not for Naminè she really would've died.

"I was so worried...I was just refilling the bucket and when I came back up here, you were all covered in blood and unconscious and...and..." Naminè was about to cry.

She walked over to Olette and sat down next to her so that Olette could comfort her. She longed for that now.

"Stupid girl, I won't die so easily," Olette said, and embraced Naminè. Although she was attracted to girls, it felt more like hugging her little sister or a childhood friend.

"I was really worried! Don't do something like that again!"

Naminè made a sulking face and leaned onto Olette.

Naminè really wasn't the naive spoiled kid she was when she first arrived at Hollow Bastion anymore. Caring for Olette, risking her life for a friend, all those things had helped her to mature a little bit.

They stayed like that for over a hour, not speaking, barely moving, comforting each other by just their presence. They both were more than just happy that the other one was alive, even though they were in miserable conditions.

Finally, their stomachs growled, and both noticed that they were starving. Naminè didn't know about the box yet, but Olette was unable to descend the ladder, so Naminè would have to choose what to eat.

"When you go down the ladder, the last box before the yard—inside is a huge box with food. I can't walk a single step with my leg like this, so can you get something for us?"

Olette didn't like to depend to on Naminè even now, after she had done all this, but there was little choice. Surprisingly, Naminè gave a happy nod, and vanished quickly. It took a few minutes until she came back. The meat in the box was wrapped inside a big cloth, and Naminè used it now as bag to transport a bit of food inside it.

"Some meat—that's good, we will need the protein—and some dried fruits. The bread will make a good breakfast if we combine it with some meat," Olette said, and waited until Naminè took the first bite.

They ate in silence, again sitting close to each other. They quickly finished what Naminè had brought up, and she went down again to get a bit more of the meat. The box was big enough to secure food for about one week, maybe ten days if they saved up some of it.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Olette had known that Naminè would ask. After all, she almost died, and Naminè probably too, in the process of saving her.

"I don't really want to tell you, but I guess I should. You have to promise me that you won't ask me about details."

Olette was still hesitating about telling Naminè what happened, but they had now food for a while and she couldn't go out anyway. They would have plenty of time to talk this out. But that was the problem: Olette wasn't that great at arguing.

Naminè gave a nod and looked closely at Olette. She didn't want her to get hurt anymore, even if that meant to shoulder some of the burden Olette was obviously carrying.

Slowly, Naminè got more and more a hold of how the world really was, and even though she still didn't understand a whole lot of it, one thing was really obvious. The world was not as bright a place as she had imagined. Knowing only Hollow Bastion after her confinement by Organization XIII, she figured that everywhere was like that. But now, she knew that the world, every world, had its dark side too.

"I got that box at the harbor. It's natural that they don't leave a box full of food for a voyage unguarded. I knocked one of the guards out and the other opened fire. I didn't get hit badly, but one bullet got my arm, and even though it was only a graze, it didn't stop bleeding. I used the ground to set off a explosion with Hero's Crest and one of the stone shrapnels must've hit my leg. In the end, I ran for it with the box."

Olette took a deep breath and feared what Naminè might say now. She certainly wouldn't be happy that Olette stole the food and on top of it, knocked out two men and got severely injured. With a depressed expression, she looked at the ground, wanting to avoid what Naminè might now think of her.

Naminè understood what Olette was saying. Even she knew that one couldn't just take food from other people, even if they were in a dire situation. But looking at the depressed Olette, she could understand how she felt. It must've been hard to shoulder the burden of committing such acts over the recent days all alone.

Naminè abstained from saying anything, just leaned onto Olette, reaching for her hand and caressing it. Olette didn't seem to involve Naminè in such shady business, and the blond girl was grateful for that. Naminè really didn't want to steal from people, but they had to eat. If all Naminè could do for Olette was to keep quiet and support her, then that was what she would do.

"You aren't going to yell at me?" Olette asked.

"I won't. You do this to keep us alive, I understand that. And no matter what you think of yourself, I know you're a good person."

That was quite unexpected, coming from someone like Naminè.

Maybe it really was time to take her a bit more seriously. After all, she did seem to gradually mature more, especially over the past days. Well, it really would be worrying if she didn't.

They continued to sit there, silently spending time with each other, healing their wounds, resting their minds and even a bit enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof. With a full stomach and in good knowledge the other one was okay, the rain didn't seem to be as annoying as it was before.

"I'm happy I met you and Kairi," Naminè said after over a hour of silence.

Olette had thought Naminè had fallen asleep, so this took her by surprise. Of course she was happy that she had met those two, even though she only came recently to notice how much she liked Naminè.

Back in Twilight Town, she had been lonely even among her friends. Now, she wasn't lonely anymore, with even just one friend.

"I feel the same way...although I must admit, I first found you a bit annoying and somewhat of a spoiled brat," Olette said, and made a funny expression.

Naminè immediately started sulking and looked in another direction. It was a very obvious act, so obvious that Olette started laughing wholeheartedly. It had been really long time since she'd laughed, and considering that Kairi was still lost, and they trapped in a foreign world, it was an amazing feat.

Even Naminè joined the laugher, although hers was more of a cute giggling, and in the end, they both laid down, looking at each other.

"If Kairi saw us like this, she would think we're lovers or something," Olette said, her thoughts getting entangled in moments on the island she had shared with Kairi.

Naminè got quiet for a moment. She looked away and rolled over, now observing the roof. Even though the stable was old, the roof was waterproof and the dark-brown wood gave it a soothing feeling.

"Ah, I didn't mean it like that. I mean...you...you're really cute, but..." Olette was struggling with her words.

"I know. It's just I really miss her, and..."

Naminè had thought about it once before. What if Kairi decided against her? What if Kairi decided in her favor? What would happen to the bond she shared with Olette right now? Naminè didn't want to lose Olette as a friend, even if that meant her relationship with Kairi remained like it was now. That thought frightened her for a moment.

"I feel the same...I...think I love Kairi, no, I...I should have realized it. I do love her. I don't have the right to interfere with your and Kairi's—" Olette was cut off by Naminè.

"Don't say it like that! I don't want to lose you as a friend..."

For Olette, this was the first time she had seen Naminè this serious. It was a bit shocking that their thoughts were the same to such a degree.

"But why do we have to choose anyway?" Naminè complained, and once again rolled over, now looking at Olette.

"I told you, to love someone is special. I've never been in love before, but...I just can't imagine that you can love two people that easily. And—" Olette was again cut off.

"But why is it like that? Wouldn't it be better if you could just love two people? If Kairi could do that, then..." Naminè muttered the rest of the sentence so hushedly that Olette couldn't understand it.

"I don't think it is that easy...I do think it would be better, but..." Olette got depressed by how persistent Naminè was. Just what was she thinking? It seemed like a impossible thing to her, to love two people equally. Or even for someone to tolerate that their partner loved someone else.

"If Kairi..."

"Even if she could love two people...you and someone else...would _you_ be okay with that?"

Olette didn't name herself on purpose. If Naminè could not accept that, she was afraid of hurting their friendship.

"If it was you, I think..."

Naminè blushed while saying it, and Olette couldn't help but think how cute she looked like that. It took her a few seconds until she fully comprehended what Naminè was saying.

Olette failed to understand how Naminè could say such a thing. But at the same time, she was a bit embarrassed that Naminè trusted her that much.

Naminè looked confused for a moment, then averted her face, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was a first for her to feel like that, but it was also weird to say something like that.

Olette would never even spend a single thought on that. Naminè wouldn't mind sharing Kairi with her? But did she really feel like that? Would anyone even be able to do that? In the end, one of them would always end up hating the other. Wasn't that common sense?

She couldn't respond. Would Olette mind sharing Kairi with Naminè? That was...if Kairi really came to like both of them, which was so very unlikely that Olette felt silly just thinking about this.

But Naminè was really close to her, much closer than anyone else she knew. Closer than Kairi, even. She...was in love with Kairi, but her bond with Naminè was much deeper, but only on a friendship level.

Olette spent a few minutes thinking about it. Right, she had felt annoyed, maybe unconsciously jealous, of how easy it seemed for Naminè to flirt with Kairi, even if it was one-sided. But she had been clearly jealous when Kairi told her Naminè had kissed her.

But that was before all this. Before their fight for survival, before their caring for each other, before they started comforting each other. In a sense, so much had changed over the past few days that it amazed Olette now that she started thinking about it.

Would she not feel anxious about Naminè snatching away Kairi in the end? Would she not fear that Naminè and Kairi betrayed her?

Her thoughts were a mess, and it really bothered her. Olette was getting a headache and looked down, right into the pure eyes of Naminè. No. There was no doubt. Naminè would not betray her like that. She was just paranoid because all of her friends had been false ones in the past.

She couldn't say it. Couldn't say she would not mind sharing Kairi. She cursed her own weakness, cursed how helpless she was, in situations like these.

"You don't need to say anything, Olette," Naminè said, getting closer. The night had come, and it was getting colder by the minute. They usually slept together to keep each other warm. But Naminè was much closer than ever before.

Laying her petite arms around Olette's waist, she let her head rest on Olette's chest, smiling. She could feel that Olette was fighting with her mind, but it seemed really painful. All because she had said something careless.

"Even...even if Kairi won't be able to like both of us, I won't ever stop being your friend. You're important to me, Olette. If Kairi only can like one of us, I'd rather stay only friends with both of you than to lose one."

Naminè was talking in such a gentle and quiet voice, it was like a reflex for Olette to pet her head and gave a smile, even though she could not see it. She was right. If Kairi decided on only one of them, if it was her, she would step down. Even if it meant temporarily hurting Kairi, if that preserved their friendship, it was the right choice.

"I feel the same way. I don't want to lose either of you, I need both of you. Yes, I need you, Naminè."

It did sound sort of like a love confession, and made her slightly blush, but it felt good to finally say it.

Both of them smiled to themselves, happily knowing the other one wouldn't go after Kairi behind the other's back.

They were tired and worn out, exhausted both physically and mentally. They just fell asleep like they were, close to each other, sharing the warmth of the straw.

---Valiant Hearts---

The sound of liquids simmering in several experimental capsules and the smell of death occupied the room. Protected from any light, almost wrapped in complete darkness but the lights of the instruments, showing steady process. One man, standing on the only table in the center of the room, was working on whatever laid on that table.

Left and right, to both sides, were experimental capsules with parts of what once were fellow members of Organization XIII, now just mere parts of a corpse. There were numerous parts, each in its own tube, labeled with just numbers.

Something stepped into the room, and a faint shimmer of light grazed the table. The body of a woman. Unmoving and cold, incomplete and broken.

"What is the process?"

A too-familiar voice. Cold and uncaring, brutal and going past any defense or act. That was he, the Lunar Dancer, Saix, the Monster of Cocidius.

"This is much harder than you'd imagine. Tell the Superior I will need time to complete this."

"I will."

If Saix had been quiet before, he now was ridiculously silent and awkward to be around. He now was just a cold beast that could tear one apart any moment.

"Luxord has been sent to the world where he last saw the Keyblader. You have time until he returns to finish this."

The man on the table gave out a offended sigh and looked at the display of test tube number two. It was almost ready.

If he could accomplish this, the Organization would gain a lot of power, maybe even the possibility of seizing control of the Keyblades themselves, advancing their plan to the last stage much faster than anticipated.

"We will watch you, Xigbar."

"You do not need to tell me that, Saix."

Another being stepped into the room, standing next to Saix, its hood up, hiding its face.

"The Superior calls for you."

"I understand."

The entity whose face was hidden was looking firmly at Xigbar. He did not hate him, but he did not like him either. He was just the replacement for Zexion. It was his job to do what he was ordered to. But this time, even he was disturbed by what the Superior had ordered him to do.

"Something else?" Xigbar turned around, watching the being, still standing there in absolute silence, almost merging with the darkness in the room.

No answer. It just turned around and slowly left the room. There was nothing on his mind. Too much thinking was dangerous.

Xigbar resumed work and took out one of his needles, stabbing the body in front of him. There was no blood and the density was lower than that of a human body.

He had to find a way out. He knew too much. Xemnas soon would want to dispose of him, at the very least, when he achieved his goal of seizing a Keyblade.

Or maybe he could regain Xemnas' favor. What if he proved to be a valuable tool, even for something that was as inhuman as Xemnas?

Another needle found its way in the body in front of him. He was not grossed out by his work, such thoughts had long vanished, along with every moral and scruple.

"Soon you will have your chance for revenge."

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette and Naminè spent most of their time resting to conserve food and energy and talking about several things—some trivial, some relevant, such as how they would look for Kairi once they were back to good health. The food had proven to be very helpful. Even after one week, when Olette had regained full health and mobility, they had two days' worth left over. Nonetheless, Olette insisted on looking for more. They didn't know how long they had to remain there.

Naminè agreed after Olette promised to be more careful. Naminè had started working on their place to sleep, and even though she had very limited knowledge, with Olette's help they managed to use some planks and the almost empty box to create a poor imitation of a huge bed filled with straw.

It was helpful, as it was more comfortable to sleep that way, but also wasted a lot of their energy.

Naminè had gotten considerably better, and was able to use magic on a regular basis now, even though there was little need for it. They planned to clean out a empty animal box and use that in the future for a fireplace. Naminè was of the opinion that Olette was planning too far ahead, as they would only need a fire in winter. Even so, they had no utensils to cook with or anything of that sort.

"We don't know how long we have to stay here. Maybe for months. It doesn't hurt to be prepared," Olette always insisted, but they never gave up on finding Kairi.

Olette managed, secretly and in the deep of the night, to break open a storehouse that was used for ships that came and left a lot—basically merchant ships—and stole two boxes' worth of food. Too much, and the villagers would hunt them down no matter how long it took, but this much would get them over another week or two.

It was long past four weeks since they had arrived in this town when Olette woke up in the middle of a night. The sky was filled with flames, and screams were audible through the whole town. A terrible sensation made Olette tremble. This was not just a simple fire.

"Naminè, wake up!" Olette woke the blond girl quite harshly, but this situation didn't allow any unnecessary delay.

"Why did you wake me up, Olette...? It's still dark..." Naminè noticed that it wasn't dark out. Outside, there were flames and terror.

"You can fight, right?"

Naminè just gave a nod; she looked outside the window and summoned Monochrome. Olette instantaneously summoned both Hero's Crest and Circle of Life. Not wasting any time, she jumped straight out the window.

Naminè was unable to do such a near-impossible physical act without getting hurt and went the long way, over the ladder. There was no saying when the stable would catch fire. With all the straw inside, it was like a match waiting to ignite.

Olette stood there in awe. The streets were polluted by Heartless and Nobodies, dead bodies on every corner. But Heartless consumed the bodies of people themselves, along with their hearts. Who would slay everyone, children and adults likewise?

Just then, a pirate came out of the house right next to them, carrying everything valuable he could find. He held his bloodstained saber in his mouth, his eyes greedily shimmering and reflecting the fire, giving him a devilish look.

It was not in Olette's nature to have the urge to kill, and against her principles too, but there was no restraint left in her after seeing a massacre right before her eyes. Right. This was reality. This was the influence the darkness and the Heartless had on the humans. Death and destruction.

But before Olette could even attempt to run in the direction of the pirate, right behind her, the stable—their home—was set on fire. It had not naturally caught fire, as not one building around it was burning. No. _Someone_ had caused that.

Naminè was first to sense the enemy. Pushing Olette out of the way, she jumped aside, taking cover from what was coming. A giant fireball hit the ground and left nothing but burnt black earth at the point where they had just been standing.

Naminè got away without any injuries and Olette had just a few scorched hairs, but they now knew where the enemy was.

Ten feet above the burning stable, wrapped in the flames and unaffected, smiling devilishly and floating in mid-air.

"_Welcome to the Game!_"

Luxord.

End of Chapter XII


	13. Imbalance of Powers – End of a Journey?

Author Note: A big thanks to G3rain1 and Airen for their hard work over the past year. We started with major struggles in March 2008, and we've come far in just around nine months. G3rain1 has always been a fair and competent content beta for me, and I'd like to thank him for this. Shame over me, but I've lost track when exactly Airen joined this little team, but her work is exceptional. I've had many grammar beta's over the course of thirteen chapters, but none of them were as thorough and honest as Airen. On this place, a very big **thank you** for the two people that were working with me on this so long. I hope you enjoy this story and will eventually tell other people about it or maybe even leave a review to tell me what you are thinking. A happy new years to you all.

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter XIII

_Imbalance of Powers -_

_End of a Journey?_

The hot flames had almost completely engulfed their shelter, the ash was swirling in the air. A mysterious darkness had eaten the clouds, deepening the grim atmosphere. A nightmare had come true. Their enemy had found them, floating at the top of the stable.

There was no time to lose. Summoning both Keyblades at once, Olette immediately took off, using the balks at the outside of the stable as platform to reach the top. If not for her insane training with Tifa, this would've been an impossible task. Naminè was still on the ground, in front of the burning stable. Having summoned Monochrome, she started firing weak ice magic at the stable, trying to prevent the fire from taking over other buildings.

Olette had to look out for burning planks that were falling down and was almost on the top when she hesitated a moment, not knowing where to jump next.

"Too slow!" Luxord yelled, vanishing in mid-air, virtually teleporting behind Olette, and hitting her with a card.

The pain was overwhelming. Nothing compared to when they had fought him on the ice field. Olette could feel the shock in every part of her body. The impact caused Olette to crash into the burning building, vanishing from both Luxord's and Naminè's visibility.

"Monster!"

Naminè was shouting at Luxord, preparing for another spell. She didn't care for the town anymore. With such a monstrous enemy, she couldn't be considerate of her surroundings. Luxord would not let her have the time to fully recite a spell. Naminè had learned from their first fight with Luxord that she was weaker than the others when it came to direct combat. Using the past few days to think of a way to counter that, Naminè had come up with a few tactics to prevent herself from being beaten up like on the ice field.

Firing several ice magics on the ground she was standing on, Naminè literally created a wall of massive ice around her, giving her some protection against Luxord.

Several long black things were lashing against the wall. Luxord wanted to avoid getting close to her. If she created an ice field like last time, she would freeze the entire town for all eternity, him included. A distance of at least thirty feet was necessary to avoid a fatal blow. But if he didn't break that wall...

"Damn it all!" Luxord angrily shouted, and made an instantaneous dash towards the ice blockade, giving up his position in mid-air, going on ground level. It withstood several brutal impacts until the first cracks showed up. Only a few more...!

Naminè's time was running out. She hadn't finished the recitation yet, and being unable to use higher grade magic instantly like Aerith was a huge handicap against such a powerful foe.

It broke. The ice broke, and Naminè was one second short of getting hit full-force by Luxord.

"As if I'd let you!" Olette came running out of the stable, burns all over the place, angrily throwing Hero's Crest after Luxord, who had no choice but to evade. An instantaneous movement later, he was again behind Olette, trying to repeat the previous attack.

"Now!" Olette yelled and let herself fall on the ground. It was wet, and she glided a few feet before coming to a halt.

"... _send me your infernal blaze_!" Naminè finished the recitation. Nothing seemed to happen.

Luxord fixed his eyes on the girl until he heard a weird swirling sound. Looking around him, dozens of fireballs were circling around him, ready to impact at any second. He could basically teleport, but not bypass matter. If he tried to get out of there, he would be hit by one of those things, probably causing all of them to ignite. He was imprisoned on the ground, robbed of his ability to float. Naminè was unable to walk away from the burning building without breaking the fire spell.

"Olette!" Naminè gave her friend a nod. Pointing at Luxord, she started her next spell. Relying on recitation magic was difficult, especially if it was a powerful one.

Olette, calling back Hero's Crest from the ground, sped up and ran towards the fireballs. She would hit the first of them in just a few seconds.

Naminè opened her eyes and pointed Monochrome at the ring of fire, which suddenly came to a halt. Olette used the moment to get in, and in less than half a second later, the fireballs were circling again.

Olette was an expert at close combat, and Luxord lacked space and time to evade in here. The circle had a diameter of less than fifteen feet, and Olette would have the definitive advantage in there.

Luxord summoned four cards around him, all of which showed the Ace of Hearts, and he hid himself behind them. Olette had little choice but to slash away at the cards, which were withstanding a lot of damage.

A double horizontal slash, followed by a combo of vertical slashes, kicks and punches, finished by a whirlwind attack, were unable to break through the ridiculously hard wall of cards. It was like hitting on steel.

"Naminè!" Olette shouted, and once again, the ring of fire opened, just to her back. A quick jump backwards later, each and every fireball started crashing into the card barrier, causing a huge explosion.

"_...so I plead thee, Raijin, send thy rage upon my enemy!"_ From the dark clouds over them, a gigantic thunderbolt descended and impacted in the place the card barrier was, directly into the explosion of fireballs.

"Did we get him?" They couldn't see because of the smoke.

"No."

In a mere second, the ground behind them broke up, and an angry and slightly burned Luxord came out, sending Olette flying. Two cards at once, and the impact was big enough to have Olette flipping over the ground before she finally crashed into a nearby building.

Olette instantly lost consciousness. Naminè was the only one left standing, and there wasn't enough time use any magic. Drawing a card, Luxord used its ability directly against Naminè.

The blond girl could feel a terrible impact at her chest, leaving her unable to breathe, thinking her heart had been crushed. Sinking to the ground, Naminè was still conscious but unable to even move a finger.

He didn't want to play around anymore. Luxord walked over to the building into which Olette had crashed. The girl was lying there, unconscious on the ground. An easy target for him. He would not make the error of leaving her enough time to recover.

The fire had gotten worse. Several buildings had caught fire, and the first Heartless showed up, coming out of the shadows one after another, an endless number of them.

The girl with the double Keyblades would be first. He hadn't forgotten the damage she had caused at the ice field. Even now, the long-healed wound still hurt when he thought about the attack. He had wanted to have his revenge, and he would not underestimate the Keyblader again.

Taking the Ace of Spades, Luxord used it to ram the impact into Olette's chest. And again. And again.

Olette coughed up blood, the impact shaking her whole body. And again. She would soon die if this continued. Naminè could do nothing, not even scream. Her mind was filled with the horrifying thought of Olette dying. But she couldn't do anything.

Why was he so strong? Or were they so weak? How could they have beaten him before? Was there so much of a difference now?

Naminè knew the answer. It was so obvious what was missing. Kairi.

"Time to end this," Luxord said. Stepping back, he raised both his arms over his head, summoning an bigger version of the Ace of Spades.

Luxord screamed out. Darkness from the shadows was being drawn towards the card. And it grew. If this hit Olette, she would die for sure!

Naminè tried to ignore the pain, tried to get up, wanted to help Olette, to prevent the only friend she had left in this world from dying. She had already lost Kairi because of this man, she would not lose Olette too!

But it was hopeless. Her body was numb from the pain. Naminè couldn't even move a single finger, not even speak.

The card got even bigger. It had already surpassed Olette in size and still continued to grow.

If only Kairi had been with them. If only Kairi were here. They would never lose against anyone with her. If only...

"_Kairi!!"_ Naminè managed to scream out, her last desperate call for help.

But nobody came. Luxord just ignored Naminè, continuing to let the card grow. He would shred the girl to pieces, to little, tiny pieces...

"Kairi..." Naminè started crying. Why did nobody come? Had all their hope been for naught? Why was she so weak? Why couldn't she help Olette? Naminè cursed her own weakness. She squeezed her eyes closed, unable to witness the end of her last friend.

Naminè just couldn't accept this. It was weak of her to always rely on Kairi in such a situation. She had to do something.

Naminè's whole being burned when she tried to get up. She managed to get on all four limbs, just to fall back down on the wet ground. Not giving up, determined to save her friend, she tried again. And managed to get in a upright position, if only kneeling.

Luxord didn't seem to notice her. Naminè had to hurry, the card was already the size of Luxord's body. If that thing hit Olette it would be too late.

"_Light of Yggdrasil, source of all being, grant those I love your blessing."_

A white light emitted from Naminè, flowing over to where Olette was. But this time, Luxord noticed it.

"You little wretch, are you still trying to avoid the inevitable? No matter what you do, you two will die here!"

Turning around, he changed his target. Not wasting any time, he started running towards Naminè, ready to blast the card right at her.

It was over. Naminè knew it was over. Even if Olette regained consciousness, she wouldn't be able to save her from this. Her legs refused to move, and there was not enough time to use any magic.

"_Impact!"_ Luxord yelled, and a gigantic explosion occurred. Naminè could feel the shockwave and stone shards slicing open her arms. Naminè was numb from the pain, just seconds away from losing consciousness. Opening her eyes, she saw the impossible.

Looking up, just a few feet away, Luxord was lying on the ground. On top of him...was Olette. She had no power left to attack with her Keyblades. All she could do was run and tackle Luxord from behind as hard as she could, causing him to fall over.

In front of Luxord was a huge crater, at least thirty feet in diameter and a few feet deep.

Naminè's mind was hazy, and the last spell she had used to save Olette started to take its toll. Her vision went blurry and her head started to hurt like never before. Slowly falling unconscious, Naminè knew that even if she stayed conscious, there was nothing more she could do.

Luxord got up with such a speed that Olette was sent flying, crashing on the ground but not losing consciousness. Gritting her teeth, she summoned both Keyblades and ignored the massive pain everywhere in her body. She would not let Naminè's brave act go to waste.

"You really are the plague!" Luxord pointed at Olette, looking humiliated.

"Look who's talking!" Olette responded.

Luxord was tired of this game. Dashing towards Olette, he drew a couple of cards, attacking Olette head on.

Olette had the advantage in close combat, but her condition wasn't good. She had to try, no matter what the outcome would be!

Luxord looked at Olette, disgusted and angry, first trying to land a hit on her face, which was rigorously blocked by two Keyblades. It was hard to keep holding the Keyblades, Luxord's punch was ridiculously powerful. Just where had he gotten that strength? He hadn't had that kind of power before.

"It's time to end this little game of mine!" Luxord yelled, using another instantaneous movement to get behind Olette.

She knew what was coming. An impact. Barely turning around in time, Olette used the momentum of herself spinning around to kick Luxord in the ribs, sending him flying for a change. He crashed into a pile of wooden chests.

"You can't win, little girl. Not against me!" Luxord shouted, freeing himself of the wooden trash.

"Don't give up. We can beat him!"

Olette was shocked. Next to her...stood Kairi, out of breath and exhausted.

"I'll explain later, he's coming!"

Olette took a second too long to notice that Luxord was suddenly right in front of her. Kairi used the only means available and pushed Olette out of the way, herself taking a few steps back. Luxord took the bait and started to attack Kairi, who was able to block one attack after another. Luxord's punches had such force that it felt like someone was continuously stepping on her hands.

Olette was back on her feet and looked at Kairi fighting Luxord. She was half in a trance until she understood that it was all real. Kairi was alive, and a chance to win had come.

Running, ignoring pain and exhaustion, Olette attacked Luxord from behind, which forced him to turn around to keep from being attacked from both sides by the girls.

"You will never win against me!"

But with Kairi on her side, Olette knew she had a chance.

Luxord had other plans. Seeing as it was two versus one, he grew a little bit desperate. He would just knock out one girl with an impact and then...

He vanished. He vanished in the midst of the girls attacking him. But that was already a really familiar pattern to Olette. He would show up either behind herself or Kairi.

"Down!" Olette yelled in time, seeing how Luxord appeared right behind Kairi. With a last effort, Olette jumped at Kairi, pushing her to the ground—but for that, she suffered the effect of the card, which caused her to crash to the ground.

Luxord's expression was showing malicious joy. He was sure he won.

"I've won!"

"I don't think so."

Before he knew what was happening, something hit his left leg, followed by a hit on his back that slashed open most of his spine. Kairi had made full use of Olette's sacrifice and had used the opportunity to attack Luxord when he let his guard down.

Luxord screamed out in pain and used a card to vanish. That was her chance.

"Naminè, get a grip!"

"...Kairi!?" Naminè tried to open her eyes, her vision blurry. It took her a moment to notice her sorroundings. Naminè couldn't believe her eyes. Kairi was kneeling next to her, using a cure spell, and then...there was Olette, lying on the ground, injured.

"I know you have a thousand things to say...but _he_ could come back any second. Please, heal Olette, she is dying!" Kairi said, well knowing that it must be hard for Naminè to just accept it like that.

"But...but you were..." Naminè couldn't understand. It really was Kairi, she could feel it for some reason. But how had she gotten here?

"Naminè! Olette is _dying_!" Kairi emphasized it so that Naminé was getting a grip.

It worked. Naminè looked at Olette. If not for a powerful cure spell, she really would die from her internal injuries. As she immediately started the recitation, Kairi stood up, looking around. She herself was seemingly uninjured. The last time Naminé had seen her...Kairi had been dying. Just how...?

"He will come back any moment. I will explain everything once we get out of here."

Kairi was unable to spot Luxord. He had just vanished on the spot, but she was completely sure she had gotten his leg and back. Even he would need a moment to heal those injuries. Kairi looked at Olette and knew that a simple Cure wasn't enough to heal her. If not for Naminè, Olette surely would've died.

"...a_nd in thy name, Phoenix, I plead you to grant this girl the life she deserves, and bring her back from the Gates of Hades!_"

Naminè finished her recitation and a bright red light descended from her hands into Olette, who immediately coughed up more blood, her body shaking from the abrupt healing of her inner injuries. Either the pain or the healing got Olette back to a conscious state.

"My head..." Olette opened her eyes and saw right next to Naminé...Kairi. So it hadn't been a dream, an illusion.

"Kairi!" Olette called out, trying to stand up.

"Naminè, use a cure spell on her. Just getting her back from dying isn't enough to have her fighting. We need her._ I _need her."

"What happened to _him_?" Olette asked, recalling that she had protected Kairi and gotten hit by Luxord.

"I'll explain later, Olette, we've got to escape."

Kairi knew that her attack wouldn't be enough to take him out. He was still somewhere out there, waiting for her to divert her attention.

Naminè finished up her cure recitation and Olette could feel the pain of her injuries being forcefully healed much faster than humanly possible. Gritting her teeth, Olette could feel feeling returning to her legs and arms, and the bleeding was fully stopped.

"Naminè, your status?" Kairi had the hope that Olette would put aside the matter of her coming back for now.

"I'm fine," Naminè blatantly lied. It was obvious, she was squeezing her eyes closed and holding her head. But it was a clear sign of change to Kairi that Naminè was not complaining.

"Kairi, how—" Kairi put a finger to Olette's lips.

"Get your Keyblades. This is going to be really hard. The next portal is on the other end of the town." Kairi spoke quickly; they had to avoid wasting any more time.

The ground was trembling, and the burning stable finally completely collapsed. The fire was spreading further, and soon, the whole town would be ablaze. They had no option. Their lives were more important than a town in another world.

Naminè only noticed it now, but there was no sign of the enemy. If Kairi really had gotten him, where was he? Olette didn't seem to know anything either. What had happened while she had been unconscious?

"As if I'd let you go!" Luxord appeared a good fifty feet away from them, his face giving away insanity and anger.

"I already thought one of you was missing. Pretty smart to wait until I let my guard down, but that won't happen again."

Not wasting a single second, Luxord started running towards them. No teleport-like movement, no vanishing, he just plain started running.

"Naminè!" Kairi had faith in her, using her experience to do the right thing.

"Yes!" Naminè answered, and fired multiple ice magics on the ground, creating yet another wall of mirror-slick ice.

Luxord showed up right in front of the barrier, not even bothering to look at it, yet unleashing everything he had. The barrier was shaking and trembling with each hit, the first cracks showing up after a few moments.

Suddenly, the barrier broke, and Luxord lost his balance for a second. It was enough for the girls to deliver a counter blow.

Kairi and Olette were both approaching Luxord from behind, Kairi on the ground, Olette in mid-air. He had no time to bring up any defense. Kairi used a feint, and instead of hitting Luxord's legs, she slid past him, using the remains of the ice wall to fly up in mid-air.

Olette was about to hit when Kairi showed up behind her. Olette used both Keyblades to get a rotation starting, and Kairi used Oathkeeper to hit Hero's Crest full force. The repel force caused herself to hit the ground but accelerating Olette's whirl.

Luxord had enough time to get up the Ace of Heart, but against the whirling Keyblades, he had a hard time keeping it intact.

"_...and let the eternal frost freeze my enemy forever and all time!"_ Naminè had finished her recitation. They had to escape, not beat him. Just freezing him would be enough.

"Damn it!!" Luxord had no choice but to disable his defense and escape, even if that meant getting hit by the rotating Keyblades.

The card vanished, and in the split second between that and the next, Olette finally managed to hit, almost cutting off his left arm. Luxord yelled out in pain. Blood was everywhere, and he used his remaining functioning arm to use a movement card.

The last time, he had taken a long time to treat his injuries with his powers. Kairi would take this chance to get them all out of this hell.

The town was burning, engulfed in flames. Screams of people, being eaten by the Heartless, burning to death. Ash in the air complicated their breathing. It hurt Kairi to not be able to do anything for these people, but staying here and fighting the Organization was just too dangerous.

"Go!" Kairi shouted, jumping over a burning carriage.

Olette knew that Naminè was still sick, but Kairi didn't, and it was unlikely that she would manage to run through the whole town. Without a word, Olette took Naminè on her back and following Kairi, slowly catching up.

Kairi knew that they had not much time. If he recovered before they reached the portal...

"Just...how did you survive?" Olette caught up with Kairi, and they both ran at full speed, ignoring the Heartless in their way, just trying to get as far away as possible from the monster from the Organization.

"Run, we talk later!" Kairi replied, trying not to waste her breath on talking.

"But..." Olette bit her lip, well knowing that Kairi was right.

Kairi gave her a nod. Naminé was conscious but didn't say a word, even though she really wanted to.

The fire was spreading faster than anticipated. Soon they were looking at a dead end further ahead. In front of them, a huge building collapsed.

"Naminè!" Kairi looked at the girl. It was asking much, but they couldn't be considerate of anything now.

She understood instantly. They could not make any detours. Every second was important. The enemy could catch up any second, and if that happened...

"_Great Lord of Fire, Ifrit, engulf what is yours, and let cease what stands in our way!"_ Naminè shouted, pointing her Keyblade at the house in front. Seconds later, it was destroyed by a massive explosion.

"Close your eyes and jump!" Kairi ordered and used a former balcony as ramp to jump over the burning remains of the building.

Olette followed a second later. Both of them landed safely but suffered a few burns. But that was nothing compared to what they had endured in the past.

"Almost there!" Kairi yelled, her lungs on the edge of bursting.

Both Olette and Kairi were at their limits, but the gateway couldn't be much further away. Neither of them could leave on their own, they were dependent on each other.

"There!" Kairi pointed at a burning house near the east town gate.

Olette could feel her hope fall. If the keyhole was in there, they had a major problem.

"Naminè, use a reflect spell to protect us from the flames. Two minutes is enough."

Kairi only knew the rough location. She was the only one out of the three that could detect gateways over a long distance. It could very well be anywhere in the house, or even above it, but this was their only chance.

Slowing down, Kairi stopped in front of the inferno, feeling the heat on her face. Concentrating, she tried to grasp the location of the keyhole better.

Naminè had almost finished the recitation spell when further away, a gigantic explosion took place. It was visible on the dark sky from all over the city.

"He is on his way," Olette said, but they all already knew it.

"_Reality Shield!"_ Naminè ended her spell, and the three of them were covered by a green shimmering light.

"Go!" Kairi gave a hand sign and the three entered the building.

It was terribly hot. Even though they were shielded against burns, the heat was immense, almost making them lose their senses.

Kairi stopped, looking around for a split second, then entered a door to the right.

The living room. The view was horrible. A whole family had died in here, and now their bodies were burning just below their feet. Kairi managed to control herself, but Olette couldn't and threw up, right outside the room. Naminé wasn't able to see the ground, but was worried what Olette might have seen to react that way.

"Here!" Kairi pointed at a swirl in the air that seemed unnatural. It was hard to see, but it looked different from the air around them.

"Use your Keyblades!" Kairi ordered, directing Oathkeeper at the point.

Olette let Naminè down, and Olette summoned Circle of Life. For whatever reason, she could only utilize the power of one Keyblade to open a portal.

Circle of Life, Monochrome and Oathkeeper's light rays combined at the point in the air, and slowly a gateway opened.

Another explosion, much closer than before. He was coming. If they didn't hurry...

Kairi didn't know if the Organization could enter the gateways, but if they could, they had to close the portal before he reached it. It took time to do so, and there was not enough of that.

"It's open!" Kairi shouted, waiting for Olette and Naminè to jump through it.

Olette managed to jump in at first try, but about three feet in mid-air was too high for Naminè. Reaching out her hand, Olette drew Naminè up, followed by Kairi, who jumped in.

And then it happened.

The entrance of the house was torn to pieces. He was there, he found them. There was not enough time to close the portal!

"I will keep him busy! Olette, you close the portal!" Kairi ordered.

The pain of being slapped by Olette was much more than Kairi had expected.

"What are you saying, idiot?! I'm, no, we're not leaving you here, _again!_"

And time ran out.

"Why won't you pests just die?!" Luxord yelled. Only a few feet separated the girls from him. His raged increased indefinitely upon seeing the portal.

Not wasting a single second more, he made a dash towards the portal. The room was too small to use teleportation cards or to unleash any long-range attacks.

"_...so Titan, Lord of Ground, let the World tremble!"_ Naminè had casted a spell without Kairi or Olette noticing.

A immense earthquake erupted, throwing Luxord off his balance. It was their only chance to escape. Kairi knew that Olette wouldn't let her sacrifice herself again, and Naminè had even thought ahead as far as this.

Kairi just gave a nod, and all three of them directed their Keyblades at the portal, closing it. Luxord was trying to reach it. His hand had already passed the border of the worlds when the portal finally closed, cutting off his hand and leaving a wounded Luxord back in the burning house that finally trembled under the quake.

They were all at their limits. Naminè lost temporarily consciousness, under the immense burden of so many recitation spells. Olette could only lay on her back, trying to catch her breath, unable to even move a finger. Kairi was in better condition than both of them, but refrained from doing anything. She too, was exhausted, and her body started to ache again.

They were finally safe, escaped from him. Just who was he? _What_ was he? What was the Organization's true aim? And just how powerful were they? Kairi had so many question that were left unanswered, it was depressing.

Several minutes passed, the three of them sitting around, resting their bodies and minds, calming down. Barely escaping death had been a horrifying experience. The sheer difference in power was overwhelming. Even after all that, he surely was still alive.

Naminé had come to, and just by looking at Kairi, it was hard to comprehend that they were back together. Slowly getting up, Naminé walked over to where Kairi was sitting. It was cold on the paths, but there was this fuzzy and warm feeling that kept her going when looking at Kairi.

"Kairi..." Naminé was near tears, her body trembling. She had almost given up hope of finding Kairi, and now they were suddenly back together.

Kairi didn't say anything when Naminè knelt down and started hugging her, just laying her arms around the girl. Naminè just wanted to stay like that, but when Kairi started to pet her head, Naminè realized how unfair it was for only her to be like this with Kairi. A feeling of guilt came up inside her, and she looked over at Olette.

The brunette was sitting not too far away, looking at them, still catching her breath and trying to ignore the pain in her body. Olette wasn't the overly emotional type, not at all. But it still would've been nice to even hug Kairi once.

"Olette..." Naminè whispered, suddenly not feeling so good anymore. If being with Kairi was leaving out Olette like this, then it came with a really bitter taste.

Naminè let Kairi go, who was a bit surprised. She had imagined that Naminè wouldn't let her go for hours after they reunited.

Olette was surprised when Naminè held out her hand, waiting for Olette to take it.

"Even with Kairi, I'm lonely without you."

Kairi didn't know what had happened while she was recovering, but it did seem like Olette and Naminè had grown much closer.

Olette let out a sigh, then stood up. For a second, she looked at Naminè, then closed her eyes and petted Naminè's head. She really was different from back then. She would've just cared about Kairi and forgotten about everything else.

Both of them walked over to Kairi, who stood up, and both of them looked at her, silent and with delighted expressions.

"I...I'm sorry, and..." Kairi started, not knowing how to explain everything.

"We're just happy that you're back," both of them said at once. Smiling at each other, Olette and Naminè hugged Kairi, who was surprised at Olette's behavior.

"I'm really sorry, you two. I didn't know you two cared so much about me."

Kairi had always been a bit slow when it came to such things. Often, she thought that people only protected her because she was a Keyblader.

"Stupid. Everyone cares about you. Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, Leon, Cid and all the others!" Olette said, pretty angry about how Kairi was thinking.

"Olette is right...and...I don't know if I...we...could go on without you." Naminè finally broke out in tears, leaning on Kairi's chest.

Kairi didn't know what to say. No one had ever said something like that to her. Just how could she answer that?

"You don't need to answer. I know you're not good with these things. Just don't do something so stupid ever, ever, again, you hear me?" Olette said, letting go of Kairi and taking her hand. She sat next to her, leaning on her shoulder.

"The hardest thing all this time was...not knowing if you were alive."

Naminè had stopped crying, and just leaned on Kairi, closing her eyes and longing for nearness.

Olette had been silent for a while now, and it worried Kairi. She had been much more reserved before, so what had brought about that sudden change?

"I won't ever let go of you again."

"You don't have to go that far, Olette." Kairi was sort of embarassed. It was weird for Olette to say that. It seemed much more like a thing Naminè would say.

"No, I mean it. I won't ever let you go anywhere alone." Olette turned around, looking straight into Kairi's eyes. There was this extremely determined brilliance in her eyes.

Kairi couldn't help but look confused.

Olette calmed down and let go of Kairi, just to stand up, walk behind her, and hug her from behind.

"Do you know how much I missed you...?"

Olette was just whispering in Kairi's ear.

"What..."

"I missed you so much...I thought my heart would break."

Kairi blushed at those words and felt slightly uncomfortable.

"You're the first person to ever accept me for what I am. I don't know what I would do without you."

Kairi was speechless. She hadn't known that Olette felt like that.

"So I'm not going to let you go anywhere alone. I will always be there for you."

With that, Olette leaned her head on Kairi's back, closing her eyes for just a second.

Naminè opened her eyes and looked up at Kairi. It was like a happy dream for her to be finally reunited with Kairi. Just spending time like this, even if it was on the icy paths between the worlds. Naminè didn't feel cold when she was near Kairi. But it felt different from before, now that Olette was also with them. It felt better, warmer.

Naminè knew that there was still one problem, but they had time for that later. For now, she only wanted to enjoy being together with these two. Right. These two. It wasn't just Kairi anymore. Her world had expanded.

Time flew past as they continued to sit there in perfect silence. It was only after so long that curiosity got the better of Naminè.

"Just...what happened after the portal closed?"

"I want to know too," Olette set after.

"It isn't a very eventful story, but I can tell you...we should get going, though," Kairi said, looking at the closed portal.

She was uncertain if the Organization people could enter these gateways alone, but if so...they had already wasted way too much time.

"Naminè, can you walk?" Olette was almost used to carrying her, and it wasn't much of a burden anymore.

"I'm fine, but thank you." Naminé didn't want to be anymore of a burden to Olette.

"After the portal closed, I was dying. I lost consciousness, and I guess I was really close to death when Sparrow found me. He had been hiding on top of a palm the whole time and watched our fight. He saved me and treated my wounds. He said I slept two days straight without waking up. The first time I woke up...I was so weak, I could only drink a bit of coconut milk."

Kairi made a break and looked to her right side, where Naminé was walking. She really had changed. Naminè seemed much more mature than before. And Olette did too. She would've never expected her to come up and hug her like that.

"It continued for a while—I'm not sure how many days—until I was finally able to get up on my own. After that...I wanted to look for you two. I had a guess that you didn't leave this world. Sparrow helped me to steal a ship that was making a halt at the island."

Olette stopped. It had been pure coincidence that they found each other. If Kairi had guessed wrong, and had left for Hollow Bastion, they both would've died.

Kairi noticed the brunette had stopped walking and looked at Olette, who was seemingly scared of her own thoughts.

"Are you okay, Olette?" Naminè asked.

"I'm fine, just...a bit tired."

Olette caught up with the others, and Kairi continued her story.

"It was then that I remembered that both of you have Keyblades that were originally mine. I just concentrated on finding them, and managed to reach both of you in time. Sparrow said that he saw no profit in fighting our enemy, stole another ship, and left."

Kairi shook her head and muttered something about unreliable pirates and greed, letting out a sigh at the end. Looking in turns at Naminè and Olette, she now wanted to know what happened to them.

"I'm sure a lot of things happened to you while I was gone," Kairi started.

Olette and Naminè looked at each other. How much should they tell Kairi? Deep down, they decided to leave some parts out, such as them talking about how she liked Kairi, and Olette stealing food and them being chased out.

Olette nodded and took a deep breath.

"Right after we left the pathway..."

---Valiant Hearts---

"But Your Majesty, why aren't we taking the Gummi Jet to travel?" a croaking voice spoke to a much smaller figure in front of him.

"We need to not be seen. We have the chance to travel unseen by the eyes of Maleficent, so we should use it. There are also the new enemies Leon reported," the small figure answered in a squeaky voice.

"Who was that again?" a rather dull voice asked. He was the tallest of the group, almost twice in height compared to the croaking voice.

"The leader of the group that has the Keyblader girl, you dumbass," the croaking voice said, obviously annoyed at the taller one.

"Oh, yeah. So why are we going there?" He didn't seem to notice that he annoyed the other one.

"Just keep your mouth shut and keep walking."

"Now, now, both of you, don't argue. We're soon there, we're right now passing another world, so there shouldn't be any Heartless for a while," the smallest figure said.

"Yes, Your Highness!" both figures replied synchronously, and saluted.

---Valiant Hearts---

"And then we started fighting that guy...you know the rest." Olette finished her story.

Kairi was a little depressed about how much Olette and Naminè had suffered because of her. But it didn't help them that she felt bad.

"Just how far away from Hollow Bastion are we? I don't remember the way at all..." Naminé said, nervously looking around. She had a grim feeling that they weren't in safety yet.

Kairi knew the way, and they still would have to walk at least a little over a hour to get to the keyhole that led to Hollow Bastion.

"Are you tired?" Olette asked.

"No, it's just...I'm a bit scared. What if that guy finds a way to follow us?" Naminè replied.

"That won't happen. The gateways only open for those with the Keyblades. He has no way to follow us," Kairi interrupted.

If Kairi was right, they were safe. But the gateways were just that—gates that connected little paths with the worlds amidst the mass of darkness. But if the Organization had a way to penetrate the small shield of those paths, they could enter from the darkness...

"We're gonna be okay," Kairi assured them.

"I wonder about that."

It was like icy water that ran down their spines. There was no mistaking it. That voice came out straight of a nightmare.

They looked in front of them. He stood there, a good deal ahead, ready to attack them anytime. They could feel it. He was literally enjoying their fear.

Olette wanted to shout, "Naminé getting ready for a spell!" but Kairi knew that he was at a massive advantage and held them back with a hand sign. They had no place to escape to, no chance. They were worn out, and if one of them fell off the path in the darkness, there was absolutely no way back.

"How did you get here? Nobody but us Keybladers should be able to enter these paths!"

Kairi was trying to win time by asking questions. She had to come up with some sort of plan. If everything else failed, they had to try and take the next portal, no matter which world it led to.

"You sure think of yourself all high 'n mighty, don't you?"

He was laughing. Luxord was laughing. He knew they couldn't escape here, and he had the advantage both in power and field. He could easily draw out thousands of Heartless on one of these paths. Why not enjoy their fear a bit more and keep talking? There was nothing and nobody left that could stop him.

"These paths have been here from way before the first Keyblader was born. They are the Anu Dazo, as the Superior calls them—the paths of darkness. It is more of a mystery that you are here than that I am."

Launching a surprise attack when he let his guard down? The chance of that working was too small. He was clearly superior in terms of power and combat experience. What else was there? The next portal was over three hundred feet away. If they used a massive ice spell to block the way, would they make it? But—

"Now who is sounding all high 'n mighty? We beat you once, what makes you think we can't do it again?!"

Olette had reached her limit. This guy was the source of all their misery—heck, it was his fault that Kairi almost died. She wanted to beat him up so badly that it hurt to just stand back and do nothing.

Olette tightened her grip on her Keyblades, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to hold herself back much longer. While keeping up a facade of believing that Kairi was alive she had suppressed a lot of emotions, and they were coming out.

Kairi could have hit Olette. What good did it do to provoke Luxord now? If he attacked now, they had no chance of winning.

Luxord laid a hand on his forehead, his voice trembling a bit. He was clearly angry. Really angry. Being reminded of his loss at the ice field, the shame and the ignominy was all but pleasant.

"I don't like fighting someone without a name. What is yours?"

Kairi tried to get the conversation back in motion, but it was too late. Luxord was already angry, and he didn't want to spend a single second more looking at their faces. He would eliminate them once and for all.

Suddenly, without a warning or anything, Luxord made a dash towards Olette. He grabbed at her face with his right arm, pushing Olette violently on the ground. A split second later, both Kairi and Naminè could feel the emitting force on the ground. He had used an impact directly at Olette's face.

"One out."

He was tired of playing around, tired of fighting these brats. It was time to dispose of them.

Kairi tried to launch a counter attack but he was too fast. He virtually vanished from her field of vision, and before she knew it, something sharp and long hit her on the back. Piercing pain ran through her body—of her back being slashed open. It was just too much to bear and even though she didn't lose consciousness, Kairi was paralyzed by the pain.

"Two out."

One more. He would just drop the bodies in the darkness beneath the path. They would vanish for good.

Naminè was all alone. He knew her abilities, that she was a spell caster, like Demyx. But she was also helpless if she couldn't finish a spell. That was the reason Demyx had come up with his water clone spell.

"Your friends aren't dead. Not yet."

And again, Luxord started laughing. A honest to goddess villain laugh, one that had gone insane long ago.

"Well, enough of this. I won't make this fast or painless."

And he didn't. He slowly walked towards Naminè, drawing a card, showing it to her—The Ace of Spades—and grinning. He had won. Finally. They had been stupid enough to escape to a place surrounded by darkness.

"_Great Will of Fire, grant me your power and__—__"_ Naminè felt a impact at her stomach, too weak to be the Ace of Spades, but strong enough to send her flying.

Luxord knew that he couldn't underestimate the girl's spells, but it didn't take much to cancel one.

Naminè had to go for a shorter version. Kairi was in dire need for a cure spell. Olette too. And he was seemingly still uninjured.

Just how did he survive all they had done to him? How had he recovered so fast? It was so unnatural, it was almost like he was not real.

"_Blaze of the Gods, burn my ene—"_

A brutal kick in the face. Naminè was sent flying yet again, crashing on the icy ground, rolling over. Her face hurt really bad, and she could feel blood running down from her lips and nose. But what could she do? If she shortened the recitation any more, it would be like a slightly stronger grade I spell. She wouldn't even scratch him with that.

Naminè tried to stand up. She knelt on all four limbs, looking at the blood on the ground, dripping from her face. Was this it? Had they fought that valiantly to be defeated like this? She...she had to do something!

The pain was immense. It was like every single bone in her back broke. The force of the impact pushed her on the ground, unable to even move a finger.

"Three out. That's all of them. Time to get rid of them."

Grabbing Naminè by her hair, pulling her along, Luxord walked over to where the other two girls were lying on the ground. Kicking Naminè in the side, he walked over to Olette and sat down on her back, showing not a grain of respect for his defeated enemies.

Really, this had been such a hassle. Good that he had followed Xigbar's advice. The battle in the town would've gone terribly wrong if not for that.

Digging in his cloak, he finally found what he was looking for—a case of cigarettes. Taking one out and putting it on his lips, he proceeded to light it with a card. Taking a deep breath, Luxord finally calmed down.

Looking down, he could see Kairi fixating him with her eyes, angrier than ever, loathing him. It annoyed him. Still daring to defy him, that girl was getting on his nerves.

He would dispose of her first.

Grabbing Kairi by her hair, he slowly walked over to the edge of the path. The iciness was even painful for him. There was nothing but darkness from there on.

Pulling Kairi up, still on her hair, he held her over the edge. Almost instantly, Heartless showed up, grabbing her legs, arms, swarming all over her. Luxord had a hateful smile on his face as he looked straight into Kairi's eyes. Eyes that were filled with hate and fear.

"See you in _hell!_"

---Valiant Hearts---

It was dark. It was like the loneliness had a tight grip of her heart. How long had it been? She didn't know. It was like a piece of her life had been stolen by the darkness. What should she do? Why was she so powerless?

It was cold. Much colder than it should have been. The nights seemed endless, and the days dull and matte. Every day, her hope shrank even more.

A creaking sound. The stairs. Someone came down the stairs. It couldn't be her, could it?

The steps came closer and closer, coming to a halt right next to her. No words were said. They understood each other without that.

"Kairi will come back, I'm sure."

A gentle voice, trying to ease the other one a bit.

"Aerith...I just can't take it any longer."

Tifa was at her limit. Barely sleeping and eating, she had been worried sick ever since the morning they had noticed Kairi, Naminè and Olette were gone. At first, they had thought they were just hiding, but after days had passed, Tifa was sure that they had left for another world.

Laying a hand behind Tifa's neck, Aerith slowly pulled Tifa towards herself, caressing her back.

Aerith herself was just as worried as Tifa, but she wasn't in such a bad condition. Each single day, Tifa spent her time looking around Hollow Bastion, looking for any signs that Kairi had returned. But there was nothing. With time passing, Aerith started to believe that Kairi was being held up in another world, be it by the new enemy or by Heartless. Her only hope was that those three were strong enough to overcome it.

"Do you really think Kairi will come back...or even wants to come back?" Her voice was trembling.

"Silly, we're like family for Kairi, and she is family for us...why would she not want to come back?"

"But...why did she leave without saying a word then?"

Even Aerith didn't know that. She could only guess, but for now, saying something soothing to Tifa was more important.

"Kairi is only sixteen. It's that age. They're probably well and will laugh at us for worrying so much."

It did sound silly, but Tifa lightened up a bit. Aerith always knew the right things to say. Tifa never regretted to have fallen in love with her. Thinking back, it was a shame that she had followed Cloud around for so long. There was only place for one thing in his heart, and that wasn't her. Aerith never failed to show how much she loved her.

"Thank you...I don't know what I would do without you."

Tifa let herself go, sinking down on Aerith's lap, laying on the couch, looking at a dark room. Aerith proceed to play a bit with Tifa's hair, then caressed her cheek. It was important to both of them that Kairi came back, and especially in situations like these, that they were there for each other.

"I also don't know what you would do without me. You're terrible at house chores. And I'm sure you'd live off instant food like Yuffie. You'd get fat."

Aerith was teasing Tifa a bit, and even though it was dark, she could feel how Tifa was showing a small smile. It put Aerith at ease, seeing that Tifa wasn't drowning herself in desperation anymore. They had done this almost every night since Kairi was gone, and only then was Aerith showing how much she was worrying about Kairi. It didn't make her suffer as much as Tifa, but she really did need the support of her partner in such a hard time.

"You're mean. But I know it's true."

Tifa moved over, now looking right up in the face of her lover. It had been some time since they slept with each other, and neither of them was really in mood for it since Kairi left. But Tifa was longing for some nearness, longing for caresses.

Aerith leaned over Tifa and moved one finger over her lips. It was like she could read Tifa's mind.

"Don't, it would taste horrible. I forgot to brush my teeth."

Of course she was just teasing Tifa again. It was a little game of ever-circling teasing with those two.

"I don't mind. Didn't brush mine either."

Aerith made a exaggerated disgusted expression and then bowed down, kissing the black-haired woman gently, delighted that there was someone she could share her worries with.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I won't let you do that!"

Luxord was surprised. Who dared to defy him, so close before his goal? Who was fool enough to attack him?

_Something_ tall and oddly-shaped crashed into him before he could react, forcing him to drop Kairi, who was caught by the odd something.

"Goofy, bring her back to the others and then provide back up for me. Donald, you heal them please. I will face him. He is a formidable opponent."

Luxord knew who was in front of him. Of all times, why did _he_ have to show up here, at this very moment? He had been so close to finishing them, and now he was further away than he had ever been. Things were not in his favor.

"Why are you here, little King?" Luxord had to think. What had Zexion written in his report about the little king? If he could only recall it!

"I don't think a villain needs to know why and where I go!"

"King Mickey, who is that guy? What was he doing with those girls?"

Mickey. The king of Castle Disney, a Keyblader of a much earlier generation than Kairi. He was keeping Maleficent in check, preventing the Heartless from taking over any more worlds.

"Goofy, Donald, watch out for him. He should be really strong."

"He sure looks weird, yeah," Goofy replied.

"Look who's talking!" Luxord angrily replied.

What kind of joke was this? Not only had he to fight the king himself but also his bodyguards. From sight alone, he could tell that this duck was able to use high-level magic instantaneously. That was a real problem. And that tall something—even though it looked about as smart as a rock, it wasn't to be underestimated. He had tackled him without him even noticing he was there.

It would be a fool's act to fight the king of Castle Disney here. He was strong enough to hold Maleficent, one of the masters of the Heartless, in check. Fighting him without knowing his abilities could prove to be a devastating error.

"This...this is not the last you'll see of me!" Luxord yelled, opening a portal of darkness behind him and escaping.

Mickey was delighted. He did not want to fight a member of Organization XIII on an Anu Dazo, a path of darkness. He had recognized Kairi the instant he saw her. But who were the other two girls? Leon had written in his message that he had welcome news regarding the Keyblade, but were those two related to it? Could they possibly be...?

"Donald, how are they?" Mickey was looking at his court magician with worried eyes.

"They're in pretty bad shape. With Curega magic alone, they'll make it, but they will need to recover by themselves for some time."

Mickey let out a sigh and looked at Kairi. She had finally lost consciousness when Goofy tackled Luxord and almost dropped her in the infinite darkness. Just how strong was the Organization?

"Goofy, you pick up the brunette and the blond girl. Donald, use a gravity spell to have the remaining girl floating next to you. We should arrive in a hour or less at Hollow Bastion." Mickey looked ahead, hoping there wouldn't be any more obstacles to this journey.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Leon, why didn't you ask him to look for Kairi?!" Tifa was pushing Leon against the wall.

They had called the two women to a meeting, talking about what they would do if Kairi did not return, what they would do _if_ she returned, or rather what punishment they would give her, and Leon informed everyone that the king of Castle Disney was supposed to arrive this very day.

Tifa was first shocked and then unimaginably angry that Leon had the means to contact the king and didn't tell him that Kairi had vanished.

"Just how many worlds do you think there are, Tifa?! Should he leave the Heartless alone and abandon countless worlds to look for Kairi, who could be in a dozen different worlds?!"

"But still...! Still..." Pushing him once again against the wall, Tifa went on.

"We all miss Kairi, Tifa. But...Leon is right. Even if we knew which world Kairi was in, how long do you think it would take to find her? Kairi is a important to us all, but we can't just desert countless worlds for her sake." Yuffie, looking depressed that she had to say all that, tried to calm down her friend.

Tifa felt defeated. Yuffie was right, she knew that. But what should she do? Just give up and wait for Kairi to eventually return?

"Wow, hey, the machine is picking up a signal. The portal at the library is opening!" Cid interrupted and gave the round a meaningful look.

Not a minute passed and the whole room was empty with the exception of Leon. He stayed back for his own reasons.

"Tifa is becoming a problem."

Tifa was running as fast as she could. Only Yuffie was able to keep up with her, leaving the others way behind them. Blood rushed in Tifa's ears; she was unable to think straight. It must be Kairi who was coming back. It had to be!

"She really cares about Kairi the most, huh?" Cid was running next to Aerith.

"I'm the exception to that rule," Aerith answered.

The mechanic decided to just shut up and save his breath.

Tifa and Yuffie had already reached the library. There, in front of the portal, they couldn't trust their eyes.

"What...what happened to them...?" Yuffie was worried. Kairi, Naminè and Olette were in pretty bad shape. Injured all over the place, but it seemed like their wounds had already been treated a bit by magic.

Tifa was just speechless and knelt next to the unconscious Kairi.

"They're alive, don't worry. Donald healed them, but they will need to rest some time before walking around," Mickey explained.

Slowly, the others reached the library, looking at the three beat-up girls. Aerith knelt next to Tifa, taking her hand, whispering something in her ear.

"They're going to be okay."

Tifa was in shock. It was just too much at once. Her head felt like it was going to explode any second. Her vision went fuzzy and she started shaking.

Yuffie, knowing that Tifa was about to faint or worse, took her hand and led her away from the girls. She knew how much Tifa had suffered in these past days. It would be better for her to first calm down before going back in. Digging in her pouch, Yuffie took out a small can. She opened it and gave it to Tifa.

"Did she...?" Aerith was worried when Yuffie returned alone.

"I gave her some canned tea. You don't want her to faint, right? That's a hundred-fifty munny for the tea."

"You're a real money maker, aren't you? But...thank you. I sometimes don't know what I would do without you, Yuffie."

Yuffie just smiled and then looked at Kairi.

"Just who did this to them? It looks horrible."

Aerith shook her head, unable to answer that question. But whoever did it, one day, she would pay them back.

Cid had led Mickey, Donald, and Goofy out of the library and back to the house they used for meetings, where Leon was waiting.

"King Mickey, it's good to see you."

A formal greeting. Leon preferred to be reserved with the king of Castle Disney. He seemed nice and friendly, but he had a natural mistrust against people.

"Good to see you too, Leon."

A moment of awkward silence emerged between the king and Leon. He didn't trust Mickey's companions. It was his motto. Only trust yourself and those your life depends on.

"Donald, Goofy, can you leave us alone for a moment? Stand guard at the door, please."

He could feel the vibes of displeasure from his loyal subjects. It wasn't nice of Leon to mistrust them, but given how his world was taken by the Heartless, there was no one that could blame him on that.

"The fact that you are here and the others aren't tells me that you brought our lost sheep back home."

Leon was more than just displeased with this development. He had planned to use the news of two new Keybladers to exchange information. They were in need of information, regarding both the Organization and what the Heartless were doing.

"And I guess I know what you wanted to tell me. The girls with Kairi are also Keybladers, aren't they?" Mickey was sharp. It was easy to figure out that a girl that was traveling with a Keyblader, with no apparent weapon, must be a Keyblader too.

"I'm coming straight to the point. What can you tell us about the Organization XIII, the one that has been utilizing those white creatures?"

Mickey sighed and looked around, as if someone was listening in. What Leon asked of him was highly dangerous information and if the wrong ears heard them...

"Organization XIII. The Nobodies. They are the shells that were left behind by truly great people. Good or bad, doesn't matter. If someone of great importance is made into a Heartless, the shell that is left behind will continue to 'live' on. It is a sad life, without emotions and without heart. In a sense, they are to be pitied."

Silence. He hadn't heard enough. It was important information to know _who_ your enemy was, but it was just as important to know _what_ he was up to.

"Even I don't know what they're planning. Their leader—they call him 'The Superior'—seems to be an absurdly powerful being. We can only guess at his motives. But one thing is clear. They're neither our nor the Heartless' allies. They're powerful and they have their own goals."

"Not as powerful as you think. We raided their place on a whim, and thinking back, it was a stupid thing to do. But the majority was against me, I couldn't have stopped it anyway. If all of them are only as strong as the ones we fought, then there is nothing to fear. The Heartless are more of a threat."

Leon remembered the fight. They had been hardly a challenge. But if they were so weak, why was the king thinking of them as a powerful Organization? Something wasn't right. And it wasn't the king.

"Are you absolutely sure they're this powerful? When I fought one, it was hardly any different from fighting a low-class Heartless. Just—"

"Don't be fooled. Are you absolutely sure they sent out their most powerful fighters? They saw you coming, didn't they? They let you invade the place, steal their data, and the people you fought were weak."

Just where had he gotten this information from? Detailed info on their trip was supposed to be top secret information. But asking wouldn't get him an answer. The king never named his sources.

"Just go and take a look at Kairi. They were three against one, and looking at them and him, he could have beaten them with a blindfold on. I can't be sure, but he was about as strong as I am. The Heartless are weak to the Keyblades. They fear and hate, they love and desire it. But the Nobodies have neither fear nor hate for it. To them, it is just another blade."

"So what do you propose we should do?" Leon was getting impatient. The king kept telling him that the new enemy was much more powerful than he had ever imagined. If that really was true, he had to reconsider a lot of things.

"For now, stay put. Even they wouldn't dare to attack you here. Kairi and those other girls—can you tell me their names?—need rest. They won't be able to fight for some time. I also fear that the Heartless see a threat in the Nobodies, and Maleficent seems to be up to something extremely dangerous. My hands are tied with the recent events. We only can wait for now."

With that, Mickey looked around yet again, as if someone were eavesdropping. It was a bad habit that he had developed when people started allying with the Heartless.

"Just stay put? Is that all we can do?" Leon was clearly annoyed at this turn of events.

"I know you want to stop the Heartless. I know that you want to get your world back. But not everything will always follow your will. You need to accept that, Leon."

With those words, Mickey put up his hood and left the room. He quickly spoke with Donald and Goofy, then walked away in the direction of the castle.

Leon was left alone in the room. The sun was slowly setting, just like his hopes to get her back. The night's darkness started to wrap up the town in its iron clutches, just like the darkness in Leon's heart.

Whispering one last word, Leon too, left the meeting room and went to his apartment. Only emptiness and the darkness of the one reoccurring nightmare awaited him.

"_Ri..."_

---Valiant Hearts---

It was warm and soft. Was this heaven? Had she lost the fight and died? Slowly opening her eyes, Kairi looked around. If this was heaven, then heaven looked amazingly similiar to her room back in Hollow Bastion.

"Welcome home, Kairi."

Startled, the redhead looked to the right side, where a tall black-haired woman sat on the ground, next to the bed.

"Tifa...Tifa, is that really you?" Kairi couldn't believe what was happening.

"Are...the other two—" Kairi had problems speaking. Her throat hurt and there was a stinging pain in her head.

"Naminè and Olette are okay. They're sleeping next door. Aerith is with them. It took a lot out of her to heal you three...and..."

Aerith had advised Tifa not to go overboard, but it was just too much.

"I'm just...so happy...that you're back. I...we...were so worried! I wouldn't know...what to do...if you had died out there!" Tifa was sobbing and even though Kairi felt at fault, she was unable to say anything.

It was her fault. It was all her fault. She had underestimated the dangers of this journey, and they had almost paid with their lives for it.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Tifa." She felt miserable, and looking at Tifa, she knew why. Making someone else feel like that, because of her own stupid stubbornness, was really the worst. Kairi could only cry in silence, knowing that.

"You better be! God, Kairi, why did you do something so stupid! We were worried sick...you're like family to Aerith and me...you could have talked to us." Tifa was now openly crying, and Kairi could feel just how much pain she had inflicted in her foster parents.

The door opened, Kairi could hear it. The pink dress, the long hair bound to a braid...

"Aerith..."

"Don't talk, you will have to do plenty of that tomorrow. Just sleep. And...welcome home, Kairi."

Aerith knelt down behind Tifa, who was still sobbing in Kairi's blanket, patted her back, pulled her slowly up, and embraced her.

"There, there...she's alive and back, that's all that counts."

"But...but!" Tifa couldn't talk anymore.

Kairi felt unimaginably bad for making Tifa feel like that. It hurt herself, hurt her mind, hurt her heart, to see Tifa like that. She hated herself for this, hated her weakness, but foremost, her stubbornness...

Kairi would never do that again. Seeing those two like that was much worse than anything she had suffered by the hands of that man.

"I won't ever...do...something like..this again." Kairi pressed out, and started coughing, feeling dizzy and sick.

Both Tifa and Aerith looked at Kairi, knowing that she meant it with all her heart. They could see that she was really sorry.

"Sleep a bit. We'll talk tomorrow...and...I love you, Kairi. You're like a daughter to me. Tifa feels the same."

Kairi felt like something huge had hit her chest. Unable to respond and suppressing the urge to start crying openly, Kairi only nodded, and felt that her tears just wouldn't stop. Kairi was crying, but this time, her feelings were mixed. Relived that she was finally back at home, that Tifa and Aerith were thinking of her like that, and even more so, regretting that she hadn't trusted them, and had done something so stupid.

The women left the room, and Kairi was left alone in the darkness. Her thoughts wandered to the two girls in the next room. What would they say tomorrow? Kairi was afraid of being disliked.

Something made a sound on her window. A very quiet screeching sound. Before Kairi could figure out what it was, the window opened from the outside, and something jumped inside.

"Yo."

---Valiant Hearts---

"Kairi is well, she is sleeping next door."

Aerith was talking to Olette. Naminè had been in the worst condition out of the three and was still unconscious.

"That guy...he was...so strong. We didn't stand a chance."

Olette could only think back in fear, afraid of that man. It wasn't just that he was stronger than them, he was on a whole different level. Just how did they beat him the first time? Was that really the same person?

"Save that for tomorrow. Get some rest. I know you're a tough girl, but you need rest. You can talk to Kairi tomorrow."

Aerith was about to go and check on Kairi and Tifa. She was tired. So tired. The constant anxiety was finally showing. But she was also really happy that all three of them had come back alive.

"But—" Olette wanted to speak with Kairi now. Just seeing her would be enough. But Aerith wouldn't let her get up.

"No buts. Your injuries are too old to treat them with magic. I did my best to treat what was still in my power when the king brought you here. You need rest."

Aerith could be really strict. Olette knew when it was pointless to argue and gave up. And Aerith was right too. Her body was heavy, her mind a bit hazy. Getting up would be impossible without help.

"Good night. Sleep well. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"Good night."

Turning off the lights, Aerith left the room, leaving Olette behind in the darkness. It was a welcome darkness, one that helped to put her mind at ease.

But then, something made a screeching sound at the window. Olette was shocked for a moment, thinking the enemy had found them, but then, that was impossible. One alone wouldn't attack them. She was just nervous.

The window opened. Olette almost panicked when something jumped in, stand up and waved at her.

"Yo."

"Yuffie!" Olette called out, almost too loud.

"Ssh, be quiet. Aerith is going to kill me if she finds out. And I'm not joking!"

Sneaking over to the bed, Yuffie got a closer look at Olette, then at Naminè.

"Wow, you're really beat up, aren't you?"

That line had a trace of mockery in it, making Olette slightly angry. "Are you here to make fun of us?"

"You want to talk with Kairi, right?" Yuffie changed the topic, knowing well that there was nothing Olette wanted more than that.

"Yeah, but I can't get up."

"Well, I can't really get you over there, Aerith would notice us, but I could relay a message...for a price." Yuffie had a huge grin on her face, and Olette finally knew to what this was coming to.

"What do you want?"

"You're washing my dishes. For a month. Every third day."

"That's suicide."

"Now, I think I should leave..."

Yuffie said it like she was absolutely not caring, and Olette took the bait. "Okay, okay, I'll do it. Jeez, you're evil."

"So what do you want to say?"

"Just tell her, 'we don't hate you, we never will.' Okay?"

Yuffie let out a whistle and had a huge smile on her face. "Gotcha, that's easy. Anything else?"

Olette suddenly got embarrassed and whispered something else.

"Wow. Wow, wait a minute, really?"

"Yeah."

"I won't come back, even if Kairi has some answer, so I'll tell you tomorrow. If Aerith finds out, I'm going straight to hell. So, see ya tomorrow!"

"Hey, wait—" And gone she was.

Olette let out yet another sigh, sinking back in the warm pillow, seconds later already deep in the land of dreams.

"So that's what she said?"

Kairi was speechless. Just what in the world should she answer to that? Why did Olette even say something like that? What should she do now?

"Well, I guess my time is up, I'll be leaving. Sleep well, Kairi, and welcome home," Yuffie said, leaving through the window just as she had come. A short click later, Kairi was again all alone with her thoughts.

"Olette...why...?"

End of Chapter XIII


	14. Old new Life, Confrontation of Feelings?

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter XIV

_The New Beginning -_

_A Confrontation of Feelings?_

Empty hallways filled with the echoes of sinister screams. The whole complex was abandoned, seemingly because of what was occurring in its depths, in places where a normal visitor could not have gone. One could only imagine what terror was waiting on the lowest levels.

"As I said, failure shall not be tolerated."

The Superior was standing upright before Luxord, amidst a mass of darkness, which was actually his quarters—a half-destructed and empty hall. This was the place where he had tortured the girl, and this was the place where he would punish those who dared to defy him and those who failed to meet his expectations, his orders.

And Luxord had failed.

His eyes were wide open in fear, fear of the things he was seeing inside his head. His mind was put through unimaginable nightmares, his own trickery made his greatest enemy. A hell of fear, desperation and darkness waiting for him, and only occasionally, Xemnas decided to lift the spell, allowing Luxord's mind to find itself back in reality.

But it was just another way to punish him, Luxord knew well that the Superior was unforgiving and never showed any emotion. The gambler swore to himself that if he somehow survived this without going insane, those girls would pay for what he had to endure.

Xemnas raised his hand, and it was the signal of yet another hell to come. Not physical pain was it that Luxord feared, as his cards would aid him there, but the terror. Terror to his mind, the one piece he could not trick, not simply heal with his powers.

"_No!"_

The echo of his desperate scream reached even the most outer parts of the complex, the vibe of his voice capable of warning everyone else what awaited them if they failed like he had. That was Xemnas' greatest weapon. Terror.

Hours passed with Luxord being kept in his mental prison. He would only last so long before his wall of sanity broke down, his mind losing its shape and drifting into chaos.

The darkness finally vanished, only gradually allowing Luxord to see the real world again. Xemnas was still standing before him with a frozen expression, an expression he kept always and at any time.

"Do not fail me again."

"Yes…"

---Valiant Hearts---

None of them had spoken a word since then. Kairi still thought about Yuffie's message from the night before and was avoiding looking into Naminè's and Olette's eyes. How should she answer? What should she answer? Did Naminè know?

"I was against it, but Leon is so ridiculously stubborn!" Tifa complained, standing in the kitchen and talking to her lover, who was making some omelettes for the girls.

"You don't need to yell. Save that for later, you're going to have to do plenty of that if Leon pushes the matter too far," Aerith said, giving Tifa a _that is enough_ look.

"I know…but—!"

"No buts. Here, have an omelette."

Aerith suppressed any further conversation by giving Tifa two plates of breakfast and sending her over to the table, where the girls sat.

Olette was still half-asleep, her head lying on the table. The whole night she had thought about…it. Naminè wasn't in good shape and was resting her arms on the table, holding up her head. Overusing magic often caused headaches over days. Kairi had gotten very little sleep and was leaning back in her chair, opposite to Olette, thinking so hard that she didn't even notice Tifa putting a plate in front of her.

"They look terrible. I'm going to tell Leon that—"

"He won't be listening, Tifa. The earlier they're over it, the better. I want to forget about it too, so please, could you give it a rest?"

Aerith was slightly annoyed at the persistence of her lover so early in the morning. She didn't like the idea of the girls reporting in the day after they had gotten home either, but Leon was still their leader.

"Some leader he is…" Tifa muttered. She sat down at the table and started sulking.

The following silence was so awkward that Aerith stood up, walked over to the living room and put on a CD, even though she didn't like music at breakfast. The song was "Twilight Treats" by Thorn of a Rose, one of Aerith's favorite artists.

A few seconds into the song, Olette moved, seemingly slowly waking up completely from her half-asleep state.

"Hey…I know that song. Where did you get it?"

"Leon gave it to me. He got it from…well, sort of a friend. Or so he says."

Aerith remembered exactly which friend and where Leon got it. But if she told Olette, she would probably ask Leon, and if there was one thing to avoid, it was questioning Leon's past.

"Hm…"

"How do you know it?"

Naminè was only half-present, Kairi still deep in thought but subconsciously eating breakfast with Tifa, who was already on her second bagel and watching Aerith, who had, out of the four, the most graceful manners. Or manners at all.

"Just…from home. I guess. I don't really remember, but when I hear it, I think of a certain someone. It doesn't feel pleasant to think about her, though. She and her friends had always been a pain. Somewhat, I guess."

Olette tried to forget about it and just continued to listen to the song, starting on her breakfast.

"Naminè, you don't like eggs?"

Aerith was worried about her apprentice. Had she gone over her limits in the past few days and suffered some permanent damage? Or was she just still tired?

"Oh, I just…I have a headache," Naminè explained, but then picked up her breakfast. A slight cough escaped her. She still wasn't completely healed, but it was much better thanks to Aerith.

"If that is all, then you're going to be okay. The cure magic I used gives your immune system a strong boost, so you should be fine soon. Don't get sick again, please."

Aerith was happy that it had worked so well. Naminè had been sick, and to cut it down to just a cold and occasional coughing was much more than she had hoped for. Usually the human body wasn't able to recover that quickly.

The atmosphere was tense and none of them wanted to start any conversation. They would have to speak a lot later, when they had to report every detail to Leon.

"Everything is going to be okay, you four."

Aerith had long finished her food, and looked from one girl to another, finally stopping at Tifa.

"Why am I included in the list?" She was still sulking.

"Because right now, you're acting worse than the others."

Tifa began to sulk even harder. "That's not true. You're just being mean for no reason."

Everyone finished eating and Aerith collected the plates, giving them forcefully to Tifa. "If I'm so mean, here. Go and wash the dishes so you don't have to suffer anymore."

It was a smile of the devil. Tifa knew that arguing with her right now was useless. They were all not quite happy that Leon had ordered the girls to report the day after they had come back, ignoring their poor conditions.

Aerith just stood behind Tifa, drying the wet plates. The night before, they had talked long into the night about what to do with the girls. For the first time in months, they had had a serious argument.

---Valiant Hearts---

Tifa was leaning on the door, arms crossed and wearing a stony expression. After her initial happiness, she was mad. Really mad. Kairi had run away, got herself almost killed and hadn't told her or Aerith about it. And now Aerith disagreed with her that they'd need to punish Kairi for the act.

"Do you plan on letting her get away with this sort of thing?"

Aerith was sitting on the bed, looking straight at Tifa, hands resting on her lap. She knew why Tifa was mad. She felt the same, yet different. Kairi was sorry, they both knew it, but Tifa still insisted on punishing her, even if it only served an educational purpose. Aerith was more lax on her, which was weak, in Tifa's opinion.

"No, but I don't think punishing her is what we should do. She, and we too, suffered enough already. We should make clear to Kairi that she doesn't have to hide anything from us, that she can talk to us if she has worries."

"But that's the same as letting her off the hook! I know she is sorry, and I'm not saying we should punish her that much…at least restrict her freedom for a few days. I don't want to see her hurt, and until I'm absolutely sure that she will talk to us next time, I want her to be always in sight."

Aerith let out a sigh and shook her head slightly. Tifa was stubborn, but not dumb. It was just that she couldn't let go of the thought that Kairi might do something stupid again.

"You want to make Kairi a prisoner in this house? Look, Tifa…I want Kairi to trust us, and I think you want it too, but confining her inside the house would only make it worse. She would feel like we're doubting her more than ever, holding her prisoner. I see your point, but your method is wrong."

Tifa angrily hit the door. Why was Aerith so against her? She was always so easygoing with Kairi! Sure, she had a point, but…but…

"If we always overlook whatever she does, one day, the thing we fear most will happen. She'll get herself into trouble and won't come back!" Tifa yelled at Aerith.

It had been ages since Tifa had yelled at Aerith. They were a very close couple and almost never argued. Aerith would have won most arguments anyway, and Tifa knew it. She was just weak against Aerith. But this time, Tifa wouldn't back down. This was too important for her.

"Don't you dare even think about that!" Aerith yelled back.

Tifa was stunned by Aerith's outburst. She had never seen Aerith lose her temper. The brunette woman covered her face with her hands. It was unfair of Tifa to say something like that!

"Do you think I don't care about Kairi? Do you?! If so, then please, open your eyes, Tifa! I was just as worried as you were, but you're taking a step back, not forward!"

Aerith stood up and looked with fiery eyes at Tifa. The black-haired woman couldn't stand that gaze. It was like her emerald eyes were piercing right through her, looking inside her mind. Averting her face, Tifa felt less angry than before. "It's just…I'm so worried that she might do something like this again…she came back, but only thanks to King Mickey. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't come by!"

Tifa tried to keep her composure and not start crying. The thought of Kairi vanishing for good was a bit much.

"It's not like I'm not worrying! And please, don't talk about what would have happened. I want this nightmare to end already. We should be happy that she is back. I think…punishing her would only make it worse."

Aerith had completely lost her usual calm attitude. She was drained and angry. She hadn't been like this since her world had gotten destroyed and she had lost many of her friends.

"So what do you think we should do? Talk with her, that's all? I know Kairi is not stupid, but I feel like just talking won't be enough. Punishing her is also a way to show we care about her. Don't you get it, Aerith? I want her to know that we care about her. Like…parents care about their children."

Aerith understood what Tifa wanted, but still shook her head. It was useless to force someone to understand others cared, and Tifa had to learn that.

"I…know we're not her real family, and she must be longing after her real one, but…I love her just like she was my own child."

Tifa stepped forward and took Aerith's hands, closing her eyes. "I know you feel the same. That's why I don't want to lose Kairi, no matter what happens. I need her, just like I need you, Aerith…"

"Don't tell Kairi that, she'd be scared for her life." Aerith tried to lighten up the mood. She hated fighting. Hated arguing.

It took Tifa a moment to catch up, but she then blushed furiously. "I didn't mean it _that way_! Gosh, you're a pervert, through and through!"

Aerith couldn't help but smile. It hurt her most when she was arguing with Tifa or Kairi. She just couldn't stand it. She would do anything to stop fighting with them. "I know. And you are telling me I'm a pervert? I think I have to remind you of—"

"No, you don't! God, if you ever mention that in front of Kairi, I'll…I'll…"

"Explode out of embarrassment, I bet."

Tifa couldn't help but look away, red as a ripe tomato. They still hadn't found a solution to their argument, and Tifa would not let it go. But her anger was mostly gone. Had that been her intention all along?

"I still think just talking to her won't be enough. I want her to…stay here for a while. Let her wounds heal and…I don't know, but I don't want her to leave anytime soon!"

"I know how you feel. But what you want to do would only make her feel worse. We would be treating her like a rebellious child, and it would only make things worse. It would make her feel like we don't trust her the least."

Tifa had finally come to reason, and Aerith was happy that they could stop arguing at last. Aerith got closer to Tifa, laying her arms around Tifa's waist and pulling her even closer. Resting her head on Tifa's shoulder, Aerith took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for Tifa to say the one sentence she wanted to hear. _'You were right, my flower. I understand now.'_

But things don't always go like that.

"Your hair reeks. When was the last time you took a bath?"

That was not what she wanted to hear, and Aerith made a slightly angry expression. "Talk about yourself. Your clothes smell like the unspeakable. When did you last wash them?"

They were teasing each other, both in silent understanding with each other about what they would do with Kairi.

"You mean _you_ forgot to wash them! It's your week."

Aerith bit her lips. They were still standing like lovers who were about to share a close moment, but once they started their game of tease and be teased, there was no stopping it.

"And who is always producing so much laundry that we have to wash—"

"At least I'm not wearing those long dresses! They're a pain to wash."

"You'd look good in a dress, Tifa."

"You really think so? Hm…maybe I should borrow one of yours."

"Absolutely not. Not in a hundred years."

"Stingy."

"I would lend you one, but I'm absolutely sure you'd give it back in pieces."

Tifa went silent for a moment. Aerith was hard to beat at this, especially because what she said was mostly true.

"Wait a second…" Tifa took a deep sniff of Aerith's dress, followed by an expression that could only be described as absolutely disgusted. "It's not your hair that reeks…it's that ominous dress of yours!"

Aerith went glaring red, like a child that was found out while stealing candy. "It's not my fault! I forgot that it's my week, and ran out of clean clothes!"

Tifa had a devilish smile on her lips, like she had just won a fight. "So you _did_ forget! The oh-so-perfect Aerith Gainsborough forgot something."

Tifa made an exaggerated gesture and started giggling at Aerith's blushing face.

"You're terrible. If I were to act like that every time you forgot something, I'd long have died from suffocation!"

"Whoa, that's really mean!"

They continued to tease each other for a while, resulting in both of them lying down on their big bed, gasping for air from laughing and exhaustion.

"Say, Tifa…how long should we stay like this?"

"A few more minutes, at least. I can barely talk."

"Not that…"

Aerith had noticed it earlier, when Tifa called her by her full name. They were living together, lovers, and with Kairi they were a family. But only for their close friends. In name, they were completely different people, not related to each other.

"What do you mean, Aerith?"

But was now really the right time for that? They had just gotten Kairi back and had had an argument too. Maybe waiting a bit more was better after all.

"I'll tell you later. Maybe."

"Teasing me again?!" Tifa got up and looked over at Aerith.

"Maybe."

"You're the devil woman, Aerith!"

"But you still love me, don't you?"

"Point taken."

"We should go to sleep, it's already past midnight."

"I feel like you're escaping from this, but you're right."

One day…one day, Aerith wanted to tell, wanted to ask Tifa for _that_.

---Valiant Hearts---

They were all there. Leon leaning on the wall, arms crossed. Cid in front of his computer, ready to log their report. Yuffie sitting on an old box, swinging her legs back and forth. Kairi, Olette and Naminè sitting on chairs next to a table, still sleepy and not fully recovered from their trip. Aerith was sitting just an arm's length away from Kairi, and Tifa was standing behind Aerith.

Their report had taken over three hours, and Leon had given them no break. They were done, but he was now asking about details.

"First, this man you three were fighting. You said you beat him on the ice shelf she created." Leon pointed at Naminè.

"Naminè. Her name is Naminè. Stop being a prick, Leon," Tifa snarled at him.

"And then you fought him again in the town, and shortly later on the path between worlds."

The girls gave a simultaneous nod, and Leon laid a hand on his forehead.

"It doesn't add up. First you win, then later, he seems to have powered up and you have barely a chance, and just minutes later, he is insanely powerful and you are defeated overwhelmingly. Such things only exist in Cid's video games."

The smoker complained and cursed Leon for looking down on his games.

"Are you sure you fought the same guy three times? Maybe you mistook him for the same guy, but he was someone else. It doesn't make much sense otherwise," Leon questioned Kairi.

"I don't think there are many guys like that. Using cards as battle tools and all the piercings? No, that was the same guy, I'm absolutely sure," Kairi replied.

"Cid, do you have any data on such a guy from our raid on their headquarters?" Leon was skeptical. It made no sense. Did the guy use some trick? Extreme healing magic? But even Aerith wouldn't be able to heal damage like a cut-off hand in just a few minutes.

"Nope, nothing, not a hint."

"Leon, I have a theory about his abilities." It was rare for Yuffie to speak up while others reported.

"If you're fooling around, I'm going to be mad."

"I specialize in tricks and tools. I think this guy does too. Remember that Kairi mentioned he first used cards while shouting their names? What if each card stands for a different ability, just like how I use many different tools?" Yuffie made a few gestures, to accompany her explanation.

"Don't be ridiculous. If that were the case, why would he limit his battle tactics to just the same things every time?" Leon rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed at Yuffie.

"Now who is fooling around? Do you think I would use something new if I knew the old things worked on my enemy? No offense, Kairi, but if he was able to beat you with whatever he was using, there was no need to let the enemy know what else he was capable of."

"You're reading way too much into this, Yuffie. From what they reported, he was more than just sure he would win. There is no need to keep your abilities a secret if you're going to kill everyone that knows about them anyway."

"It's just my theory, but don't come back later complaining to me about it when he kicks your butt," Yuffie said, and waved her hand at Leon.

Tifa was snorting over Yuffie's comment and earned an evil glare from Leon in response, and another from Aerith, shutting her up.

"We will find out when he makes his next move. No use in worrying about this now." Cid knew that Leon still had some questions, and it really was meaningless to discuss the matter of the enemy and his unknown abilities any further.

Leon sighed and held his left hand to his forehead. "Okay, next. That ice shelf. Aerith, I will need your opinion on that, but be serious. I've never heard of you doing something crazy like that. Naminè, you first. How did you do it?"

"I…don't remember much. We were in danger and I saw this one recitation to call upon power of Celsius in one of Aerith's books. I didn't think it would go out of control like that."

"Not really much…Aerith, what kind of recitation spell was that?" Leon was obviously unsatisfied.

"I try to keep it simple. For recitation, there are different beings to call upon. For ice, there are not as many as others. The only ones on the god grade I know are Shiva, Jormungard, Fenrir, and Celsius. Shiva is the weakest, the Queen of Ice. Jormungard is a forgotten entity, and has no power left. I also never tried to recite from him because back then, he was known to be unpredictable. Fenrir is, for me, the highest form of ice recitation magic I can manage. Even then, it takes a while to set up the spell. But Celsius…Celsius is the Empress of Eternal Freezing, way beyond Fenrir. There are several beings like her in the recitation chain of beings…"

Tifa was covering her face in her hands, trying to prevent herself from laughing. When Aerith was asked about magic, she went on and on, and if you got lucky, she finished before the blood started running out of your ears.

"…and that means, god grade beings are generally unpredictable. Commonly, we use king or knight grade beings for recitation. Even I have problems with some of the stronger beings in that grade. But to call upon the most powerful being…Naminè was extremely lucky that her magical potential is not as big as mine. If I were to do something so reckless and lost control of it, the entire world would end up frozen. Basically, using any recitation beyond the lowest being on the god grade will inevitably result in a loss of control."

Leon was already rolling his eyes along with everyone else. But Aerith wouldn't shut up until she finished her recital.

"I never met anyone who could control such spells. Not even Merlin or King Mickey could. I think master Yen Sid would be able to, he is an excellent magus. I believe he was able to master a recitation on Adamant. Adamant is a god class being from the life circle and—"

Tifa put a hand on Aerith's mouth, forcing her to be quiet. "I think they understand. In short, it's more than just dangerous to use those recitations. Don't use them, no matter what happens, Naminè. Or else we'll all be forced to hear the full story on this."

That was actually a very scary thought and everyone present except Tifa took a step back.

"I wasn't finished," Aerith complained.

"Now you are," Tifa said, and for once, roles were reversed and Tifa gave her partner an angry glare.

"Don't worry, Tifa, I'll tell you alone the whole thing later," Aerith said with a killing smile.

"That's that. I expect you to be more cautious from now on. No dangerous spells. Both of you." Leon pointed at Naminè and Aerith, and both of them started to sulk. It was special to be able to do recitation magic, so how could Leon understand how hard it was to control it?

"There was something else that disturbed me. That guy, Jack Sparrow. Did he find out that you were from another world?" Leon looked straight at Kairi.

"I don't think so. He seemed smart, for a pirate, but I don't think he understood who we were. He didn't ask any questions, so I guess he knew I wasn't going to tell him anything," Kairi replied to the question.

That was a relief. If people came to understand that there were other worlds, order would break down, panic and disbelief would reign. They had to avoid that at all costs. Keyblades seemed to have some kind of illusion effect on their masters, preventing people on different worlds from finding out about them. However, there was no way to disguise the others. If they came along, it was obvious to people on their worlds that they didn't belong there. That was the reason people beside the Keybladers were usually forbidden to enter other worlds. There were exceptions, like the raid on the headquarters of the Nobodies.

"Good. Try to avoid dragging civilians into our battles in the future. None of us want to repeat past mistakes…"

Kairi remembered that incident. She didn't want to, though. It had been not entirely her fault, but she was the Keyblader, in the end, the guilt came to haunt her.

"You three will be grounded in Hollow Bastion for some time. Yuffie will be going on recon missions. Once we spot the Organization, and deem it safe, we will send you three out. If anything happens, you will immediately come back, and there are no exceptions to this order. That is all."

Tifa was feeling much better. She had been thinking a lot about how to tell Kairi that she wasn't allowed to leave Hollow Bastion for some time, and Aerith said that it was Tifa's job to tell her. She would do the talking later, since she was better at it. Tifa was a bit offended, but couldn't argue on that. Now that Leon had them grounded, she was satisfied. Looking at Aerith, she could see that the brunette was too. Aerith would never admit it, but she was more than happy that Tifa had insisted on the fact that they had to punish the girls somehow and grounding them wasn't too extreme but still a punishment.

It was finally over. Starting at eleven in the morning, it was now past two. They were tired, hungry and exhausted, especially Kairi, Naminè and Olette.

"Let's go back. Let's go _home_," Aerith said, rubbing her temple.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi was in her room, sleeping. Olette was sitting on the table in the living room, lethargically eating some snacks, Naminè was lying on the couch, reading a book that Aerith had given her: _Ezatin Mios – Beings Beyond the World._

Tifa was out shopping for dinner, and Aerith was doing the laundry. None of them was eager to talk about what had happened yet again. Tifa and Aerith had heard everything in their report. Kairi was still not fully recovered, Naminè's headache had gone worse, and Olette was just tired. Olette had done most of the talking when they had had to report about the time they had spent in the unfriendly town.

"Olette, could you help me with the laundry? There is another basket on the stairs, could you get it for me?"

Aerith was standing behind her with a basket full of freshly washed clothes. Since Naminè and Olette had only a few sets of clothes, they had to wash them often. Tifa and Aerith had spent a little fortune on new clothes for the girls, since neither of them had more than what they wore when they first arrived.

Their taste was fairly simple, though. Naminè preferred a simple dress, such as the one she wore when she first met Kairi. She had two in white, and a black one. Olette kept her old clothes and got some others. Long jeans, and several tops, close in looks to what she usually wore.

"Sure. Oh, and…I'm sorry for running away with Kairi like that."

"You should be. But enough of that. I'm happy that all three of you are back."

Olette didn't know what to say. Ever since she had learned that her home, Twilight Town, was a fabricated world, she kind of doubted everything. But for once, she felt a little bit at home.

They used the balcony to dry the clothes, and Olette was in charge of hanging the wet clothes from the second basket. She had a hard time, mostly because half of that basket contained various pairs of underwear from about anyone living in the house.

"Wow…I didn't know something like this counts as underwear." Olette was holding a black thong.

"That's Kairi's," Aerith said, absolutely casual.

It took Olette a second to comprehend that she was holding Kairi's underwear in her hands. She went from astonished to glaring red in a split second. "W-w-what?!"

"I'm just kidding," Aerith said with a huge grin. "It's Naminè's."

"That's not any better!" Olette complained, and put the thong away.

"You're so easy to tease, I just couldn't resist. Just like Tifa." Aerith smiled, much to Olette's delight.

"Actually, you comparing me with Tifa is a bit scary," Olette said, thinking about the relationship the two women had.

"I think you know I didn't mean it like that."

Olette just nodded and they silently finished doing the laundry. They both were sitting on the table when Aerith started a conversation.

"So, you have a thing for Kairi?" Again the casual tone.

Olette almost spat out the juice she was drinking and started coughing. Just where and from whom…?!

"What gives you that idea?" Olette sort of panicked. This must be the feeling one got when left alone with the parent of the boy or girl one had a crush on.

"Hm…let's see. For one, your reaction earlier at the thong. I could have sold you off as big tomato. Then, you almost spat your juice out at my question now. And then…well, let's just say it's womanly intuition."

Olette went red like a light bulb at Christmas. She had to defend herself somehow. It was not like that!

"Everyone would spit at such a sudden question! And I think everyone would show some reaction if you told them who that underwear belongs to!"

"So you don't like her?" Aerith was looking with her sparkling eyes at Olette.

She found happiness with Tifa, so if anyone had to be together with Kairi, Aerith would like it to be a girl. It seemed really unrealistic, though, that Kairi would come to like anyone in a romantic way.

"You won't talk to her about it, right?" Olette made a serious face, looking straight back at Aerith.

"I won't if you don't want me to." Aerith was serious too. If Olette really looked at Kairi like that, then she would not tell Kairi. Olette had said nothing about not telling Tifa, though, and Aerith smiled a bit on the inside.

"I _do_ like her. But it's complicated." Olette was a bit embarrassed to tell Aerith.

"What's so complicated about it?"

"Naminè and I are very close. We both like Kairi, and we both told Kairi that we like her, and we told each other that we like Kairi."

Aerith was slightly confused for a moment but then caught on. Olette continued to talk, and it was obvious that she really wanted to talk to someone outside of their little love triangle.

"Naminè and I know that Kairi can only go out with one of us. That is…if she likes one of us back."

Aerith smiled and laid her hand on Olette's. "I don't think she has a crush on anyone. So you two just need to work hard for her to like you."

"I don't really want to go out with her if that means hurting Naminè. I think she feels the same."

It was quite obvious in what direction the conversation was going.

"I see the problem. You don't want Naminè to get her heart broken, and vice versa…"

"I think…I only wanted her to know how I feel. How Naminè feels about Kairi is obvious. I think…I only want to know how Kairi feels. In the end, even if she were to say yes to me…I would turn her down. If being together with her will make Naminè feel all alone, I really don't want that."

"You really _do_ like Naminè, don't you? Why don't you two try and go out with each other?"

Olette blushed a bit at the thought, but immediately shook her head. It wasn't like that between them.

"Kairi and Naminè are different. We're close friends, we can't go out."

Aerith giggled and got up. She had known that Naminè was in love with Kairi, but that Olette was too had been sort of a surprise. It was kind of sad, though, that most likely none of the girls would have their dream fulfilled. In the end, it would be really odd for Kairi to develop lesbian interests.

"I hope everything works out in the end." Aerith didn't know what else to say. If it made Kairi happy, Aerith would be happy to do whatever she could to support them.

---Valiant Hearts---

Two days of doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and recovering had gone by since they reported. They were mostly back on track, thanks to Aerith's strong healing magic. Aerith had kept quiet, even to Tifa, about Olette and Kairi, and the girls didn't talk much. Naminè tried to give Kairi some space, and Olette avoided Kairi, afraid of the answer to her question. Kairi herself often slept till noon or past that and then only got up to eat and went back to bed. Her mind was occupied with several things at all times.

Why did Olette have to fall in love with her too? Naminè had been so intrusive before, but thank God she kept a distance now. It made Kairi's life much easier. Whatever happened between Naminè and Olette, it seemed like the brunette had a positive effect on the blond girl.

But she had to postpone her thoughts on that. She had to get well fast to resume training. Kairi wanted to become stronger than anyone else. Strong enough to never lose a battle again. Both Olette and Naminè had resumed their training this day, but Kairi needed Aerith's approval to resume training.

Olette had gotten well enough to resume training with Tifa, but it was completely different from before. Sure, they still did physical training, and Olette had gotten really proficient in using two Keyblades, and learned a few different moves from Tifa that involved fighting barehanded.

"Physical strength is important, but if you lack skill, you lose a lot of potential. Since we can't cut down on physical strength training, we'll be changing the program. You're doing three hours of physical training each day. Mondays and Thursdays, you're going to do speed training. I mean speed like slashing away as fast as you can. You will do that until you reach a NAM of over ninety-five."

"What does ANM mean? And somehow, ninety-five sounds like a lot…" Olette didn't even start complaining about three hours of working out each day. It was useless to complain once Tifa had set her mind on something.

"Number of Attacks per Minute. Means you've got to hit any target over ninety-five times a minute."

Olette looked like someone just dropped a building on her. Tifa couldn't be serious! That was totally crazy to demand.

"Can you even do that?" Olette was demanding a demonstration.

"My NAM is one-hundred-and-fifteen. Watch." Giving Olette a stop watch, she put on her gloves.

Tifa turned around and focused on a sandbag that was fixated on the wall. It was heavy and made of leather, reinforced with thin iron thread. Olette could hit that thing as hard as she wanted and it wouldn't budge.

"Go!" Olette called, and could barely trust her eyes.

Tifa was like a different person. Ice cold eyes, never letting the enemy escape her gaze, insanely fast yet powerful hits on the sandbag. It didn't bounce, it was a stationary target, but it let out dust from the impact on it. Olette could barely believe it. It was hard to count the number of hits, but she was sure that Tifa had surpassed one-hundred by the time the watch stopped.

"That's amazing…seriously." Olette clapped with wide eyes.

"When I'm under the influence of time magic from Aerith, I manage over two-hundred. It's dangerous, though. I'm relatively safe, because I fight bare-handed, but if you were to go beyond one-hundred, you could injure yourself. It'll take years for you to reach ninety-five, though, so don't worry."

Years? Just how long did Tifa plan to train her? For all her life? Some people really were too enthusiastic about their job. It wasn't even a job, so why was Tifa agog on training her?

"We'll start today with physical training. Since you only got out of bed, I want you to run the old course three times before we start working on your muscles."

The old course was through the living quarters, past that through the castle, taking the lift to the bottom of the canyon, from there running up all the way to the industrial quarter, and from there back to the living quarters. Roughly three miles. Olette had to jog or run the track, and the only break she would get was when she took the lift.

"Ow, go easy on me, Tifa. I won't run away, you'll have plenty of chance to torture—er, I mean, train me."

Tifa's eye twitched in a scary manner. Olette took this as a sign that she better get going.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I heard how good you've gotten with recitation magic, so I'll start teaching you more instantaneous magic to balance your abilities. Relying too much on recitation magic will prove ineffective against a fast enemy. We'll start by the next grade of Fire, Ice and Cure magic. I'll teach you a few new magics when you get proficient at using the old ones at grade two."

Aerith walked over to Naminè and stopped behind her, laying both hands on Naminè's shoulders and taking a deep breath.

"Now, picture fire magic and try to pour a bit more magical energy in it. Then picture a big fireball, and unleash your power. It's a simple matter of getting used to the new image. It'll take you some time to get used to it."

Naminè was shocked at the amount Aerith talked about magic. Tifa had talked to her a bit before Naminè went to training near the canyon, giving her a brief warning that Aerith was a real maniac when it came to magic. She could talk for hours without break.

Aerith took a few steps forward and focused on a formation of rocks nearby. Index and middle finger sprawled out, the others in her palm, Aerith concentrated for just a split-second and sent a fireball on the formation. It exploded with an impressive bang.

"That's what a fire two spell looks like. It's very useful for close combat, since the explosion isn't that strong but the fire is several thousand degrees hot. A point-blank hit would be fatal for about anyone. But it is mostly used to divert the enemy's attention, and you can use that spell very often in succession."

Naminè was half-numb from all the talk. There was a limit to how much information she could take in at once. For now, she tried to burn the image of the fireball into her mind.

"Try it. It shouldn't be too hard."

It was weird not to use a recitation, but instant magic was, at higher grades, almost as powerful as recitation magic, but without the need to recite anything.

Magic energy gave shape to what otherwise only existed in the mind of the caster. If the caster pictured a fireball, magic energy could give shape and existence to it.

The stronger the magic, the bigger the ball had to be, and the stronger the pictured effect had to be. While for the very basic spell, a torch was enough to ignite it, a bigger ball required a much bigger fire. It was extremely important to find the right balance between magic power and the picturing effect. If the effect was too strong, the magic would be crushed in the caster's mind. Too weak, and the magic would stay raw and eventually break free, resulting in a spell running amok.

Naminè started with a flame the size of a campfire. The ball was over twice the size of the previous spell, but it was just her first try.

She failed instantaneously. The flame devoured the entire ball, eating up the magic.

It was normal to fail the first few tries. Some magicians took months and years to learn the correct balance for the highest grade instant spells. The problem didn't occur with recitation magic as the power was not formed inside the magician but just called into him. It was a matter of creating the magic itself or just calling it down.

"Try it again. I usually go with fivefold the size of the basic spell for the next step."

"Fivefold? But…" Naminè coughed for a moment. It was rather chilly down at the canyon.

"You don't need to rush. Magic takes a while to get used to, but once you get a grip on how to use a spell, you don't need to practice it often." Aerith smiled, patted Naminè's head and went back to her position.

The ball. Five times the usual size. That alone was hard. It was like lifting a car when you're only used to lifting hundred-pound weights. It didn't mean the pressure was just five times the usual amount. It was much higher.

Using the flame of an abnormally big bonfire, the ball caught fire and grew in size. Things were looking good. It grew and the magic finally materialized at the end of Monochrome's blade. It was a nice blaze and the ball was in a stable form. It must've been a few thousand degrees hot. Air was flickering around it. It was a success.

But it wasn't to be.

The ball collapsed back upon itself. Losing all structure and the magic rapidly vanishing, the spell failed. Only almost a success.

Naminè was breathing hard. It took a lot to try new spells, and Naminè was still not completely sound and well.

"You almost had it. Take a break, I know how stressful new spells are." Aerith was honestly amazed at her apprentice.

"Thanks, Aerith. You're a really good teacher. You talk a lot but it actually helps." Naminè had failed the spell twice, but once she had gotten really close.

Aerith didn't know if she should be embarrassed or thankful, so she didn't say anything. They had taken some canned juice with them. Aerith picked up two cans and walked over to where Naminè was sitting. Closed eyes, her back on a big rock, a bit tired.

What were Kairi and Olette doing right now? Kairi wasn't allowed to get up, so she was probably all alone in the house. Naminè was feeling pity for her, but tried to shake that feeling off. Kairi wouldn't want to be pitied. Olette was probably being worked to the bone by Tifa.

Tifa preferred to drink beer after training, but Aerith didn't like the bitter taste of it. And Naminè was still underage. Aerith could bet that she was trying to get Olette to drink it. She would behead Tifa if Olette turned out to be like her. One troublemaker adult in the house was enough, not to mention that Olette could have a negative influence on Naminè if that happened.

Naminè looked up, startled, when Aerith held a very cold can on her cheek. She had used a weak ice spell to cool them down. They had been standing in the sun for over an hour.

"Thanks…Aerith, you're looking really scary…" Naminè was more afraid of Aerith's face than of the remaining training.

"Oh, really? I was just thinking that Tifa better not make Olette do something _improper_."

"Uh… right…"

Naminè could feel it. It would be Tifa's last day if Olette came home and something was odd. She made a mental note to never listen to any of Tifa's propositions. She would tell Olette later.

---Valiant Hearts---

"She is trying to kill me…seriously, I'm telling you!"

Olette was laying facedown on her bed, soaked, and so tired that she was unable to move. Olette had thought that a real battle was bad,and injuries were hard to endure, but this felt much worse. Tifa had worked her literally to the bone. Olette had passed out in training and Tifa had brought her home. Naminè had been there for just a bit over ten minutes, so she was rather worried.

"I don't think she wants to kill you." Naminè was not sure if Olette was being serious.

"Nah, if it's Tifa, she really would do it. Not intentionally, though. She just knows no limits." Yuffie had come over to visit the girls because she was bored. And hungry.

"I'd rather have you train me, Yuffie." Olette sighed.

"Won't do. You're more the brute type. Two Keyblades 'n stuff. I work with tools and tricks, none of you girls has the wits and speed for that."

"Well, thank you for the compliment." Olette grumbled and turned over. A hot shower, dinner, and bed. Those were the only things important right now.

"If you invite me for a date, I'll think about it."

"A date?" Naminè was looking a bit confusedly at Yuffie.

"Yeah. Going for dinner, watching a movie, a bit of kissing and ending up waking up together."

Olette was blushing red. Was Yuffie being serious? A date? And all that stuff she said…

Olette was struggling for an answer but nothing came out. It got even worse when Yuffie went up and walked over to Olette's bed, getting as close as making the brunette feel her breath on her face.

"Don't you like me?" Yuffie was trying to sound as seductive as possible.

If something like that happened, Olette would've let out steam of her ears and nose. Her body wouldn't listen to her and moved away. She was like a rabbit caught in Yuffie's trap.

To top it all off, Yuffie was getting closer, as if to kiss Olette. A strange mix of panic and excitement was coming up in Olette. Yuffie was not much older than she. Maybe a year or two. And even though she was kind of a tomboy, she was cute. Olette couldn't believe she was thinking stuff like that.

Afraid and excited, Olette closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss. If she couldn't prevent it, she would at least take it like a woman.

But nothing came. On the contrary, someone pulled her cheeks. It hurt a bit. And someone started laughing. Laughing really hard. Opening her eyes, Olette was looking in Yuffie's face, who was almost drooling from laughter.

"You're _such_ a child! You were _so_ thinking I was going to kiss you, weren't ya!"

That was so mean, Olette could only look embarrassed. Naminè was laughing too. And she had had such a hard day too! She would pay Yuffie back, for sure!

"If I really had to pick, I'd rather go with cute Naminè here on a date." Yuffie let go of Olette and looked straight at the blond girl.

Yuffie had changed her target. Now it was Naminè's turn.

"Yuffie, I think that is quite enough."

Aerith had entered the room, holding a few folded towels, and was looking at Yuffie with a certain glare.

"Jealous, Aerith? Could it be that _you_ want to go on a date with me?" Yuffie was still playing around.

"Do you want me to ask Tifa if she wants to go?" Aerith could play her game. And she was good at it.

"Uh, no. I remember last time…oh, I wasn't supposed to tell you."

"Must be hard. I mean, just the _size_ is _so_ different." Aerith could be a real devil.

That hurt. Yuffie had a few self-esteem problems and had a complex about her little bust. How dare Aerith make fun of her!

"It's not my fault that Tifa is such a boob monster!" Yuffie had damned herself; Aerith now knew where her weak points were.

"So Naminè and Olette are monsters too? They're both bigger than you."

The girls blushed slightly, and Naminè pulled on her dress, looking down at her body. Olette could only figure that Aerith had been together with Tifa quite some time to be able to tell something like that. It was a bit embarrassing anyway.

"You must have marbles for eyes! Look!" Yuffie thought that she had the best chance by picking Naminè.

Yuffie pulled up Naminè and stood next to her. Aerith first looked interested, then gave away a devilish grin. Looking Naminè (who was more than just slightly embarrassed by that) and Yuffie (who was nothing short of angry) up and down, she came to a conclusion.

"Naminè wins. Sorry, but flat is flat, Yuffie. Maybe we should call you Princess Boobless." That hurt. Aerith had won.

Yuffie made an angry fizzling sound and made her way out of the room without saying another word, stomping and sizzling over the humiliation.

"I'll get you back for this!"

Then there was stomping down the stairs, and a door was banged closed. The whole house was silent for a second, until Tifa showed up in the doorframe.

"Did you make Yuffie mad again, Aerith? Jeez, every time the same. You really shouldn't be so mean to her." Tifa was actually smiling more with every word.

"Don't lie. I know you love it when I tease Yuffie. I'm the only one that gives her a beating in her own game too," Aerith replied. She was also smiling.

Olette just didn't know what to think of this crazy town and its people anymore. They were way weird. She missed her daily Struggles and face-offs with Hayner and Pence. Even their fights with Seifer's gang, Rai's annoying loud attitude, Fuu's less-is-more behavior. They were all…not real. Was that really true? Olette didn't know much about Cid, but he didn't seem like a person who would make such an elemental error.

But there had to be some way to get back…get back…home. It was her home, virtual or real. That made no difference. One day, she would go back, find a way, meet her friends, for sure!

Naminè had gone back to reading a light novel she had borrowed from Aerith. A story about an evil association trying to exploit the resources of the planet, gradually killing it, and a resistance group, called terrorists who were trying to save the planet. Naminè thought that a few of those people looked a lot like the people from Hollow Bastion.

How long would she have to wait before going to approach Kairi? Did she even want to anymore? On that alien world, in the time she had spent with Olette, there was one thing she had learned about herself, her feelings. One side of her wanted to be with Kairi, but the other cared about Olette just as much. That inner conflict left her without answer to the questions in her head. What did she want to do?

"Dinner will be ready in an hour. Olette, please take a shower before that. Tifa, you too. You two smell like dogs who've been playing in the dirt." Aerith was merciless when it came to cleanliness. No shower meant no dinner.

"I'll go first, Olette. I'll massage you later, otherwise you'll drop dead by tomorrow evening. Aerith here would kill me."

"Oh, don't be silly Tifa, I would _never_ do that." It was crystal clear what Aerith really meant.

The outlook of being massaged was nice. To have it done by Tifa was quite the contrary. Olette was fearing for the worst. If Tifa's massage was as rough as her training, then that was going to be her end.

The two women left, leaving the door open and the two girls alone. They hadn't seen Kairi for the whole day. Well, until now.

"You two look exhausted."

Even if they both had feelings for her, that was no reason to avoid them.

"Kairi!"

Olette somehow managed to sit upright but going down the ladder was a bit too much. Hugging her would give the wrong impression too, Olette thought. Naminè wasn't as thoughtful and jumped and hugged Kairi. It didn't seem to annoy Olette or Kairi, but she still let go after a few seconds.

"I'm sure Tifa is working you to the bone, Olette."

"She's trying to kill me, honestly."

"I believe you. Actually…yes, I really do. I can so imagine Tifa doing that. But I believe you can live up to her expectations. If anyone can, then you."

Olette blushed a bit and scratched her chin. It wasn't like Kairi to praise her. It was clear that she wanted to motivate her, but Olette was happy that Kairi did it at all.

"And I'm sure you're living up to Aerith's expectations already, right Naminè?"

"Yeah. I'm trying my very best!"

Naminè blushed and jumped happily on the spot. It was like someone had given her an expensive sweet. Being praised by Kairi was special for Naminè. They'd both been praised, no less, and the apprentice magician looked up to her partner, who was smiling from heart at her.

Kairi could see how hard they were training. It made her feel guilty for laying around all day. Tomorrow, she finally could go back to her daily routine. Kairi would train so hard that she would beat that Organization guy the next time they met for sure.

"Want to go to that place tomorrow, you two? I think I'll be free to go out from tomorrow on. Aerith would put me into a cage if I were to go anywhere tonight."

"If I'm alive," Olette replied, but she would go, even if Tifa actually broke her.

"I'll go for sure," Naminè said, and looked up to Olette. "I'll heal you if you can't move."

Kairi was surprised how well they got along. It was nice to see them like that. It let Kairi feel at ease.

"You two really get along now, hm…" Kairi was a bit curious about what had happened between them. She had already noticed when they had their own little reunion on the path between the worlds.

"We do. A lot of stuff happened. I understand now how Naminè feels."

"And I'm not the spoiled child I was when I first got here. I'm…a bit sorry about my behavior back then." Naminè was a bit embarrassed, thinking back.

"I heard most of what happened when you reported. But you didn't tell Leon what happened that made you get along this well." Kairi was drilling for an answer.

"That's a secret." Naminè giggled and held a finger upright in front of her mouth.

"Yep, a secret it is," Olette approved, and had a big smile on her face.

Kairi would never get out of them what exactly happened. Maybe it was better like that. Sometimes, less was more. And if they got along like this, it was enough for Kairi. It made her sort of happy.

Out of a lack of possible topics they could talk about, Kairi just chose something casual.

"Tonight's dinner is gonna be fried potatoes. I can't wait." Kairi was sitting together with Naminè on her bed. Olette had gone back to lying down on her bed. She was too tired to sit, even when Kairi was there.

"I hope I'll be able to eat anything at all. I feel like moving my arms will need a miracle."

"I'll feed you," Kairi was smiling and teasing her.

"That's unfair, I want to be fed too!" Naminè demanded, looking at Kairi.

"You'd want to be fed by her anyway," Olette teased her.

"So what? You too, Olette!"

"What are you two, nine years old?" Kairi tried to end their mutual teasing.

"Would you feed us if we were nine years old?" Olette was now teasing the redhead.

"Nope. You two are old enough to eat for yourselves."

"Whoa, that's mean. You said you'd feed me, right, Naminè?"

"You did, Kairi. Are you going back on your word?"

Kairi stood up, sticking her tongue out at Naminè.

"You two…are teaming up against me, aren't you!" Kairi was now playing the hurt and fragile girl. But they didn't buy it. Her acting was catastrophic.

"Yeah. We're best friends now. You can't escape," Olette replied, completely casual.

"Olette is right. You're all ours, Kairi." Naminè made a devilish smile, something she had copied from Aerith.

"Who are you two and what did you do with Olette and Naminè?!" Kairi was having fun. It was the first time in a very long time that she had fooled around with girls her age like this.

"We could ask you the same," the two girls replied, laughing.

"You seem to be having fun."

Tifa stood in the doorframe, wearing only a long towel and laughing.

"How long have you been eavesdropping, you evil spirit?!" Kairi was embarrassed to be seen by Tifa while fooling around with the other two.

"Long enough to know who'll feed whom at tonight's dinner." Tifa had such a big grin on her face, Kairi got more embarrassed by the second.

"I'm not gonna feed anyone!" Kairi was objecting.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Tifa laughed again and walked past Kairi, not without petting her head. "Olette, the bath is free. Go now, while it's hot in there. You'll feel a lot better after a hot shower. It relaxes the muscles."

"If every muscle that hurts is going to be relaxed, I'll end up as pudding."

Tifa was rolling her eyes when she left and Olette got down. It was an atrocious process. Every step hurt. And then, she had to look forward to a massage by Tifa after dinner.

"See you two at dinner. Keep your pants on." Olette waved and hauled herself over to the bathroom door.

"Olette!" Naminè squeaked and started coughing for a second.

"Don't worry, Naminè is wearing a dress. No pants."

"Your heart is pitch black, Kairi, did I tell you that?" Olette said, and vanished into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Naminè, but I think I'm going to leave you alone until dinner." Kairi was suddenly not feeling so good anymore. With both of them around, it was okay, but now that she was alone with one of them, she felt the pressure.

"Don't worry, I have this book to read." Naminè pointed at the cover of the light novel that was lying on her pillow. She knew what was going on, and understood Kairi's side too.

"_Shin-Ra_, huh…" Kairi knew the story. And she knew who wrote it. It wasn't just fiction.

"It's really interesting. So…see you at dinner." Naminè didn't like it, but went to her bed and opened the book.

Three weeks ago, Kairi would have said something like this was impossible. Naminè understanding the situation and leaving her alone.

Things really had changed.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Aerith told me about your little talk this afternoon."

Olette stopped breathing for a second. Had she misheard what Tifa said? Or…Aerith! Olette finally noticed that she hadn't asked Aerith to not tell Tifa about it. There was no telling what she would do to her now! She was lying on the couch, half-nude, being massaged by Tifa.

"I don't think Aerith would lie to me about it, and I take your silence as confirmation that I'm right." Tifa made a cracking sound with her knuckles.

Olette was more than just worried. Tifa didn't sound very happy about the fact that she, Olette, had a crush on her precious foster daughter. That cracking sound only made it worse.

Was she in serious danger? Kind of helpless, Olette feared for a moment that Tifa would threaten her and tell her to leave Kairi alone or something. Or worse, start to harass her and put her through even crazier training.

"I…what are you talking about, Tifa? I'm not sure—" Olette felt a sudden pain and stopped.

Tifa's eyebrow twitched from anger and she had pushed a bit too hard on Olette's left arm. It wasn't like her to try to stay calm and rationally think things over. But out of all things, Aerith would seriously never forgive her if she did something serious to one of the girls.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. I only want to talk."

In a sense, that was even more scary than an angry Tifa. Olette never talked much with Tifa about personal things like that. Why was she starting now? Because Aerith had told Tifa about her crush on Kairi?

"You better be honest with me. I really hate it when people lie to me." Tifa did sound very serious.

Olette nodded as far as that was possible in her situation and waited for the first question. It felt like a ruthless judge was over her, waiting for her to make a single mistake to find her guilty.

"You like Kairi?"

That was to be expected. Olette nodded but then decided to actually answer her. "I do."

It was obvious from Tifa's tone that she wasn't pleased to hear that. "How much?"

"I…love her?" Olette was not sure if that was the right thing to say.

"Do you or not?"

Was it the indecisiveness in her statement that made Tifa angry? Or the fact that she was in love with Kairi?

"I do." Tifa said she should be honest. There was no telling how much Tifa knew, and Olette decided to be honest.

"That's good, then."

What just happened? Tifa had made a sudden character change and didn't sound so angry anymore. Olette actually relaxed for a second, until Tifa leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

"You better be serious about her." It was accompanied by a gruesome smile, Olette could see it from the corner of her eyes.

"What do you think about Naminè?"

Olette didn't know what to answer. What did she think about Naminè? Thinking about it, if she had any romantic feelings for her, they must be well-hidden.

"She's a friend…but I love her. Not in a romantic way, I'm sure about that."

That was the closest thing to the truth she could say without dying of embarrassment. It was already pretty painful to say. She must be as red as a tomato.

"I see. So, it's about that. You don't want to destroy the bond you share with Naminè?" Tifa was actually pretty good at this. Maybe the rough girl was just all a facade and she was actually pretty sensitive about romantic stuff?

"I don't get why you two are like that, though. Can't you stay friends, even if the other goes out with Kairi?"

Or not. This was definitely the Tifa she knew, irresponsible and rough.

"I don't want to see Naminè hurt."

Tifa only listened, seemingly thinking.

"I know I'm asking for the impossible." Olette sighed.

Tifa had finally finished her massage and knelt on the ground, looking straight in Olette's face. "Some resolution you have. Not even trying, and already whining about it."

It was all she could say. Tifa wasn't really pleased that now even Olette had developed a crush on Kairi, but Tifa knew that she couldn't keep Kairi alone forever. It would be a cruel and evil thing to do.

Slowly, Tifa walked away to the stairs, fighting with the feelings of a parent who wants to protect their child and the feelings of a friend that wanted to see the other one happy.

"You better be grateful to Aerith. If some guy were to come up and tell me he had a crush on Kairi, I'd throw him out the window without a second thought."

Olette was left behind, alone with nothing but her thoughts. A little bit of desperation was in her voice…

"Just what should I do…?"

End of Chapter XIV


	15. You and You and I – Under the Moonlight

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XV

_You and You and I – _

_Under the Moonlight_

"That's it for today."

Naminè was more than just tired. Training had been going on for over five hours that day. Aerith was a nice person, but too ambitious when it came to magic. It was past noon, time for lunch, and training was finally over.

Kairi's training must be still going on. Would she go and see it? It wasn't that far a detour anyway, so she decided to go. Aerith would go back in advance to prepare lunch. Tifa was probably still training Olette, or rather torturing her, as she called it.

"You're making good progress, Naminè. I think you'll have fire done before the week ends." Aerith was smiling at Naminè, proud of her apprentice.

"I'm going to look how Kairi is doing. I'll come back with her."

"It's her first day after recovering. Give her a slap on the head if she's overdoing things…actually, I'm sure she is." Aerith sighed and tried to imagine Naminè actually slapping Kairi on the head.

Hilarious. So hilarious that Aerith started to smile so widely that Naminè gave her a weird gaze before she left. It was still around noon, so there was enough time for lunch.

Naminè made her way from the canyon all the way up to the castle grounds. The place was a mess back from when Hollow Bastion had been Maleficent's headquarters. Leon had decided to not repair the place and instead use it as training grounds.

Naminè could hear swords clashing from a distance and it got louder when she got closer. That was the sound of fighting, and there was little question who was fighting.

The last corner, Naminè came upon an amazing sight. Leon was running towards the castle walls, his sword magically enlarged to an enormous size. It was his special attack. To use that in training was quite extreme.

Kairi was in front of Leon, standing near the castle walls. Leon was about to strike, and Kairi was a sitting duck. Naminè was following Leon's movements. He looked serious enough to make her think it was a real battle.

The finishing strike came. And Leon ran blindly in the trap. Kairi fired gravity magic on the ground and jumped to the side, evading Leon's blow. The swordsman hit the gravity spell and got his sword stuck. He decided instantly that it was better to break up the power-up spell, which freed his sword.

Kairi was already close enough to prevent him from using his power-up again. He had to defend against a series of blows, randomly coming vertically and horizontally. There was little room for a counterattack.

"_Fire!_" Leon yelled, and Kairi backed off, anticipating a fireball.

But nothing came. Instead, Leon closed in and hit a surprised Kairi with a kick to the ground. It was useless to disarm a Keyblader so he prevented her from attacking by using two gravity spells on her wrists. Kairi was unable to get up, and with Leon pointing his sword at her throat, the fight was over.

"Kairi!" Naminè was rather shocked to what lengths they went.

"Naminè?" Kairi looked to the side, seeing the blond girl running over to her.

"Are you all right? That looked like a real fight, you got me scared for a moment!" Naminè knelt next to Kairi.

She had bruises and cuts all over the place. Leon was definitely going too far with this!

Leon undid the gravity binding and knelt down. He was sweating and exhausted. He had only a few bruises, displaying his superior combat abilities. They were still far apart, Kairi and he. She would have to go through a lot of training until he had to be really serious.

"Good work. I didn't anticipate the gravity bind. But that's useless if your opponent can choose the length and the shape of his weapon. Keep that in mind. Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow," Leon said and stood up, slowly walking away.

Naminè could only listen and watch in astonishment. She didn't like Leon, but he didn't seem like a bad person. But his training seemed to be much worse than Tifa's or Aerith's.

Kairi was exhausted. It was nothing new that Leon beat her, but it really was surprising that he praised her tactics. The main point of their battles was not to enhance physical or magical abilities but to gain tactical experience. No power in the world meant anything if the opponent could see every single move in advance.

With Olette and Naminè on her side, Kairi was more serious than ever. She wanted to show them that she was trying her best, not allowing herself to fail like she had on their last mission. One day, she would function as the tactical head for those two. She couldn't neglect training her body and mind, though. She would ask Tifa to let her train together with Olette. It wasn't enough if she trained thrice a week with Leon. There was enough time to train at least once with Tifa and Aerith. That still left her two days to rest.

"You're pushing yourself too hard, Kairi. Aerith told me I should give you a slap on the head if you do. I won't, but promise me that you take better care of yourself!" Naminè was worried Kairi was overdoing things.

"If I don't train hard, I'll never be strong enough to take on…him." Kairi had not-so-fond memories of him.

"Even if you don't train this hard, you aren't alone. I also do what I can. Even Olette!"

"You…don't understand that."

"Then explain it to me!" Naminè looked at Kairi in incomprehension.

"Maybe later," Kairi said and got up. She had asked them to go with her to _that_ place today.

"You're so stubborn!" Naminè complained, but followed the redhead.

"I know. And you're as curious as a cat."

"What does that mean?" Naminè had never heard of the saying.

"You'll find out one day." Kairi had gone back to smiling.

Naminè made a sulking expression. "Why do I feel like you're making fun of me?"

Kairi said nothing, but giggled. Her body hurt and Aerith would probably scold her for being reckless. What Tifa would say…well, she already knew. Tifa would, as usual, threaten to beat up Leon.

The two girls made their way over to their home. Naminè linked her arm with Kairi's, doing so without any deeper intent. It didn't seem to bother Kairi.

"You'd love to stay like that forever, wouldn't you?" Kairi was teasing her.

"If you don't mind." Naminè was still cautious about such things, but Kairi seemed to be much less distanced than before.

"I do, but we can stay like this until we get home."

Their relationship had changed. Kairi knew that Naminè had a romantic interest in her, but nothing good would come out of just pretending it would go away if she ignored it long enough.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi was taking a shower first, while Olette and Naminè were talking, or rather, arguing in their room.

"Now stop sulking, Olette. I was just walking with her."

Olette had seen them from the windows walking, arms linked together. She knew that it wasn't a big deal, but she still played the offended and sulking one.

"You're so lucky. I want to walk like that with Kairi too."

"Are you sure? Didn't you complain five minutes ago that Tifa is killing you and you don't want to move a single step—" Naminè knew that Olette was pretending. It was so obvious, she decided to play along and tease her a bit.

"That is different! Who knows what you two did before you got to the house!"

"Kairi said I shouldn't tell. You would go crazy." Naminè had to suppress her laughter, and turned away from Olette.

"I knew it." Olette buried her face in her pillow, trying to avoid showing her big smile to Naminè.

Naminè climbed up the ladder and sat down on Olette's back. The brunette moaned from the sudden weight on her back. Her sore muscles were just as bad as the day before and Naminè only made it worse. To top it all off, Naminè started tickling Olette. And what a victim she had found herself!

"Get off me, you witch," Olette was laughing while saying so.

"Force me, you brute!" Naminè continued tickling her.

Olette tried to move around and throw Naminè off and it worked. They forcefully switched positions and now Olette was on top of Naminè, tickling her. The blond girl was not quite as sensitive as Olette and could resist laughing.

"I knew you two were close, but I didn't knew this close."

Both girls looked down, seeing Kairi in the door frame. It was embarrassing off the scale. It certainly looked like they were doing _that_.

"She started it!" It was the first thing that came to Olette's mind.

"We were just teasing each other!" Naminè only made it worse.

"Wow, hold it. I didn't want details." Kairi knew exactly what it looked like, but it was too funny to see the girls embarrassed like that.

"It isn't like that!" Olette got away from Naminè, and was glaring red.

"Olette's right!" Naminè was no less red than Olette.

"Lunch is ready, come down, you two lovebirds." Kairi felt good. It was so much better to deal with all this once she had made up her mind. It was now only a matter of…telling them.

"We aren't lovebirds!" both girls said simultaneously.

"Yes, of course." Kairi smiled and left, going down the stairs.

It only took the girls a minute to get down, still embarrassed over the misunderstanding and looking rather awkwardly at each other.

"This is your fault!" Naminè pointed at Olette.

"It's not!" Olette didn't want to argue about this anymore. It was embarrassing, especially in front of Kairi.

"It's okay, I know it only looked like that," Kairi said and rolled her eyes. The girls really took some things too seriously.

Aerith had observed everything and was smiling to herself. Tifa was in the shower and missed everything. She would tell her later. It was good to see the girls getting along.

"You three look like you're having fun."

"Looks like Naminè is not only learning magic from you, Aerith. What else are you teaching her?" Kairi gave Aerith a guilty look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aerith was innocent and Kairi knew it.

Lunchtime flew by. They talked about nothing but how Naminè was taking after Aerith, and Kairi had a lot of fun comparing Olette to Tifa. That only led to Naminè and Olette joining forces and comparing Kairi to Leon, who was equally stubborn. The redhead had more to say and in the end, the girls accused each other of being younger counterparts of the adults. It led to three sulking girls and a laughing Aerith.

Tifa joined them when they were just past comparing Olette to her and everyone looked at her with wide eyes. Tifa was confused and asked what it was all about, and everyone but Olette started laughing.

They girls went back into their rooms when lunch was over, while Aerith and Tifa went out for their own training session.

"Do I really act like Tifa?" Olette was complaining to Naminè, who was lying on her own bed below Olette's, and reading the novel she got from Aerith.

"Maybe." Naminè answered halfheartedly, occupied with her own thoughts.

"It's not true, isn't it? I'm not that irresponsible!"

"Maybe."

"Naminè, are you even listening?"

"Maybe."

Olette climbed down the ladder, leaning over Naminè and finally getting her to look away from her novel.

"Am I like Tifa?" Olette was thinking that it wasn't too bad.

"I don't know. I do think you're sort of like her. But that's not a bad thing, really."

Naminè liked Olette, and if she was like Tifa, what did it matter?

"I was just thinking…have I always been like that?"

Olette was thinking that maybe being in this world was changing her. Maybe being with Kairi, with everyone else, was changing her. But was it a good or a bad thing? Meeting Kairi certainly was a good thing.

"I don't know. But I'm changing too. I don't think we are changing for the worse."

Awkward silence fell over the two. Olette sat down on Naminè's bed. Should she talk to her about it? They were in the same boat, and what Tifa had said still bothered her.

"It's weird like this."

Naminè could guess what Olette meant. She felt the same. How long would this go on? How long would they have to wait?

"It's up to Kairi…"

The atmosphere was going downhill. They both didn't know what to say. They each knew the other liked Kairi, and they knew Kairi would have to choose.

The door opened and the very subject of their troubles entered. Kairi looked rather confused, seeing Olette down next to Naminè.

"Want to go to that place? I asked you yesterday, so…"

"I'll go." Olette was up in a second.

"Me too." Naminè put a bookmark in her novel and stood up.

It was still light out and it would take a bit longer for the sun to set. That place was the best when the sun was going down, but it wouldn't hurt to go up a bit earlier.

Kairi was nervous. She had made up her mind, even if it meant completely changing their relationship forever. Her thoughts went back to the night they got back, the moment Yuffie told her about Olette.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I thought a lot about it, Kairi, but no matter how much I want to deny it, I love you."

Silence. It was an earsplitting silence, like it had occurred after a terrible accident. Neither said anything, the silence just continued. Kairi finally centered her thoughts and tried to answer.

"So that's what she said?"

Nothing else came out. Kairi was at a loss for words. Why didn't she notice it? Why hadn't Olette said anything?

"Well, I guess my time is up, I'll be leaving. Sleep well, Kairi, and welcome home."

The black-haired woman left through the window, and Kairi was alone with her thoughts.

"Olette…why…?"

Kairi could feel her heart ache. Was it an error to trust Olette? A error to act around her like that? But…

Sleep was completely out of the question now. Kairi glared at the ceiling, burying her face in her hands. Just what should she do now?

"First Naminè…for no reason and now…Olette…_why_, dammit?!"

Kairi's feelings went from confused to rage. Why did one girl after another force their unrequited feelings on her? How would she deal with them? Did she have any feelings for them?

Her mind was clouded with anger. Just why did they both have to fall in love with her? What was so special about her? Sometimes she wished to be a boring regular girl, without all these burdens.

That thought woke bad memories. Memories of when she wanted to run away, throw away everything and give up. And she had promised herself to never let it happen again.

Taking a deep breath, Kairi tried to clear her mind. It was wrong to get all angry over it. There was nothing she could do about the feelings of others. But this situation couldn't go on. If she told Naminè she wanted to stay friends, would she do the same with Olette? But it was already awkward enough, knowing one girl loved her. Wasn't that…just running away?

She had never bothered with romantic feelings or the sort. Asking Aerith or Tifa would only lead to them encouraging her to look for those things herself. One couldn't explain feelings to others. Maybe she just wasn't ready for it. Maybe she would never be. Was is right to have the girls waiting forever for her? Was it fair? Did she want to do that to them?

"No…"

But would telling them so ruin their friendship? It surely would change their relationship forever, irreparably. Did Kairi really want that? It had only been so long since she got to know them, and there was still a lot she didn't know about them. Would they hate her? Would they walk away from her?

It was a difficult choice. But wouldn't making them wait forever make them hate her even more? It would be, as a friend, a terrible act to do.

Kairi had been alone for a long time. Even if it meant being alone again, she had to make a choice.

Her thoughts wandered back and forth for so long, she didn't even know how soon the morning came. In the end, her choice was clear. It was for the best this way.

---Valiant Hearts---

It was still early to go to the observation deck, but Kairi had something else to say. Something that was weighting on her shoulders, something that they had to admit to themselves or they would never get over it.

"The air is so clean up here."

The deck was as beautiful as ever. High above Hollow Bastion, one could feel the wind and the sun, could see the whole town.

"Did you guys ever ask yourself what's down there?" Naminè pointed at the canyon.

"Aerith said that they tried to measure the ground once, but they couldn't reach it. It seems like a bottomless hole," Kairi explained, and leaned on the fence.

"Wow…I hope I don't fall down there." Naminè took a step back, looking over to Olette. "But you two would come and save me, right?" The magician looked at her friends.

At first, Kairi thought she had misheard.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you like it if Kairi came and rescued you all on her own? Like a shining prince on a white horse that saves the princess?" Olette teased her, with a big grin on her face.

"But Kairi isn't a prince. And a white horse? Olette, did Tifa give you something odd to drink?"

Kairi and Olette started to laugh. It was sometimes funny that Naminè took such sayings literally. But who could blame her? She had no memories of her past, and they still didn't know her true age or birthplace.

The atmosphere was good, and the girls enjoyed themselves up there. Olette preferred to lay supine on a bench with Naminè next to her on the ground. It had become a fixed habit of patting her head, and Naminè let no one else but Olette and Kairi do it.

Time went by, and they silently enjoyed being together. For Kairi, it was not quite as enjoyable. She wanted to forget it, to get over it. But it wouldn't be easy to bring it up. Maybe the direct way really was the best…

"We failed."

Olette and Naminè stopped everything they were doing and looked at Kairi, confused.

"We failed because I was too weak. A town burned down, many people died, and even you two almost died. And it was all because I'm stubborn and incompetent."

Kairi blamed herself for her lack of power, her lack of foreseeing the enemy's moves. Blamed herself for getting injured and almost dying, blamed herself for what Olette and Naminè had had to go through.

"Don't be so damn stupid!"

Kairi was pulled out of her world. Olette had stood up and yelled at Kairi, looking really angry. Kairi had never seen Olette like that. She was clenching her fists, looking at Kairi.

"How am I stupid? Do you honestly believe it wasn't my fault?!" Kairi yelled back.

Naminè hated this. Hated Kairi and Olette yelling at each other. It made her feel sad and angry inside, and the blond girl could only look on the ground, unable to face whatever was going on between the others.

"Yes I do! How damn self-centered can you be that you believe everything is your fault?" Olette said everything in a rage. Olette usually never talked to her like that, but Kairi's attitude made her angry.

"How is it not? I screwed up when fighting him, I almost died trying to let you two escape just to find out that you two were trapped in the world and almost died fighting him again! It's all my damn fault!" Kairi was no less angry.

Olette knew how Kairi was feeling and why she was blaming herself, but it was too much to take all the blame herself. Why didn't Kairi trust them? She wasn't just a sole fighter that had to protect them.

"Didn't you say we're a team? In a team, there is no 'my fault.' There is only 'our fault.' Don't you understand that?" Olette walked to Kairi, standing right in front of her.

Kairi didn't know what to say. True, she had called them a team, and Olette was right.

"Let us shoulder some of that fault, Kairi. It's not yours alone. We could have stopped you from going. But we were so sure of ourselves. We thought we could handle it." Olette slowly calmed down.

Kairi sunk to her knees, staring at the ground. It felt good to let it all out, to yell and to be angry. She rarely allowed herself to feel like that.

"You're not alone. Not now, not in the future. You will always have the people from Hollow Bastion. Have Tifa and Aerith. And especially us. We stepped into this world, and we won't ever leave it." Olette didn't feel like hugging Kairi, so he went back to Naminè and took a deep breath.

"It felt good to let it out…" Kairi felt much better. Now…now, she had the courage to finally say it.

A few minutes of silence went by. Naminè had calmed down and was sitting on the same bench as Olette was, and Kairi was standing at the fence, looking at the sun, which was slowly setting.

"I…have something else to say."

It hurt. It already hurt. The thought of how they would react hurt.

"We already yelled at each other, I hope you now have some positive news." Olette was trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

"You have no idea…" Kairi whispered to herself, not loudly enough for anyone to hear.

"What is it? You can always talk to us. We will always be there for you, Kairi." Naminé wanted Kairi to believe her.

"It's about that. Exactly that. You two and me."

It was like a curtain of anxiety fell over them. Kairi was still standing at the fence, directly in front of the sun. The setting sun wrapped her into a dark red light.

"I only…_like_ you two."

They didn't dare to say a word. Their hearts were beating like mad, and their minds were blank, unable to think anything.

Kairi felt different. Her heart wasn't beating like mad, it was like something icy had grabbed it. It was painful to breathe, painful to speak. But there was no way back now.

"You are friends, and that's it. Nothing more than that. Why don't you understand that?"

Kairi couldn't continue. She had to take a deep breath and collect all of her courage to say it.

Turning around, the crimson sunlight shining around her silhouette mostly masked her. But they could clearly see her face. The words came slowly, and each of it felt painful.

"I don't love either of you. Give up already. Stop forcing your expectations on me. Just leave me alone!"

Without waiting for any response, Kairi turned around and started running. She didn't want to be near anyone for now. What would they think of her now? In a mere second, she had turned their relationship upside down. But it was her decision to do things this way. She had always been a lone wolf and would always be. Maybe she just wasn't made for romance.

Olette and Naminè were left behind, in many ways. Still sitting on the bench, the sun had set, and darkness started to devour the light, started to devour their hearts.

"I didn't know it would feel like that," Naminè whispered.

Olette was looking at the moon that was coming up. A single tear ran from her eyes.

"Olette…" Naminè was resting her head on Olette's shoulder.

"I know how you feel…we knew it could end up like this. We knew it…but it still hurts."

"I don't understand. Why did Kairi look so sad?" Naminè was looking up to Olette.

"I don't know…"

If they had ever needed each other, then it was now.

Olette felt miserable. She had always told herself this could happen, and she thought she was prepared for it. But in the end, she wasn't. It hurt, but she didn't cry. For a while, she didn't want to see Kairi's face, just so that this feeling would go away. It surely would, if she just had some distance.

Naminè took it worse. She had always loved Kairi. Sadness had a tight grip around her heart. For a few minutes Naminè was about to cry, but with Olette near her, only tears fell in complete silence.

They continued to sit there, and darkness had already covered most of Hollow Bastion. It got colder, and Naminè moved in closer to Olette, freezing.

"Can we go home?"

Naminè was cold and despite everything that happened, she wanted to be at least in the same house Kairi was.

"I…don't want to."

Naminè thought she had misheard. Why would Olette not want to go home? It was the only place they had left to go to. And even if Kairi had rejected them, Naminè wanted to be close to her, even if it meant only knowing she was there.

"Why not?"

"Because of Kairi."

Home was where Kairi was. For now, Olette didn't want to see her face, or to be anywhere near her. If that meant not going home, then Olette wouldn't go. It hurt to just think about her, but seeing her, knowing she was just a room apart, Olette couldn't stand it.

Olette shook her head. It wasn't like that. Not exactly. But she didn't want to see Kairi's face now or tomorrow. It would only stir up bad feelings.

"Do you dislike Kairi now?"

"No, I don't. But…I'm different from you. I don't want to see her right now. It would only make me feel worse."

Naminè sighed and hugged Olette. She understood her point, even if she didn't understand that feeling. But if Olette needed to be away to get better, Naminè wouldn't stop her.

"Will you stay with me?" Olette didn't want to be all alone. At least Naminè should stay with her.

"I want to go home. I don't want to be away from Kairi, no matter how she feels about me."

Olette sort of understood how Naminè felt, but she wasn't able to share that feeling. Olette just needed a bit time alone to handle this matter.

"I won't go home. Not today, maybe not tomorrow. Please understand that. Do you still want to go home, alone?" It was Olette's last try to make Naminè go with her.

"I do. I promised myself I would never leave Kairi alone again." Naminè could see the disappointment in Olette's face.

"You're strong, Naminè…" Olette couldn't do that. Couldn't go there. Naminè seemed to still love Kairi. It was not surprising. But how about herself?

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Let's go home."

It was dark and cold when they got down. It was night and thestars and moon were out, shining over the town. It was a beautiful sight. But in this moment, Olette couldn't see anything beautiful in it. The girls were quiet until they reached the door to their home. Naminè had already her hand on the doorknob when Olette turned around.

"Where are you staying? I want to be near Kairi, but I don't want to be away from you."

"I'm going to crash at Yuffie's place. You can come and see me anytime. Good night, Naminè."

Before Naminè could reply, Olette hugged her tightly and whispered a few words, feeling worse than before. If only Naminè had gone with her.

---Valiant Hearts----

The way down had been long, and Kairi still felt miserable. Their faces, when she told them…that image…would she ever get it out of her head?

"Why am I so stupid…how is this the right thing? How is this better? Why did I have to tell them, why didn't I just wait a couple months?! Just why can't I do a single thing right?!"

Sad about what happened, angry at herself, Kairi only wanted to get home, wanted to get in her bed, and wanted the day to end. Why didn't she just let it be? That sure was a great way to start working things out between them right after they had gotten back from their disastrous mission.

There was no one home. Tifa and Aerith were out. Kairi stood in the living room for a bit. The sun was almost down and only a few last fragments of light were finding their way into the house.

"I'm so stupid…"

Kairi had enough of it. She only wanted to be alone. She slowly walked up the stairs to her room. She stopped for a second at the room Olette and Naminè were sharing. Would they come back? They surely wouldn't want to be anywhere near her right now. And they were right. With a big sigh, Kairi walked away from the door.

Going into her own room, not even bothering to undress, Kairi went to bed.

"I wish things went as easily as in books…reality is much too harsh…"

Slowly fading over to the realm of dreams, Kairi was once again confronted with her inner demons. The faces of Olette and Naminè when she told them the truth, the fear of failing to meet the expectations everyone placed on her…

Time passed by, and Kairi was deeply asleep when her door was opened, and a pair of curious eyes looked inside the dark room, only to vanish a second later, closing the door.

"She's asleep."

Aerith was standing in front of the door, Tifa next to her, carrying Naminè. They had found her on the couch, sleeping with a sad expression still on her face. Next to her was Olette's note. They knew it was useless to go over to Yuffie's. She would only tell them to get lost at this time of night.

"What in the hell happened between them? Kairi is sleeping, Naminè on the couch making such a face and to top it off, Cid told me he saw Olette going into Yuffie's apartment. Talk about a crazy day." Tifa was rolling her eyes in annoyance. What the hell had happened in a few hours?

"I don't know. And I think we shouldn't rush to conclusions. Let's carefully ask Kairi tomorrow."

"I'm getting her into bed."

Aerith was left standing in front of Kairi's door. If all three of them were like this, she could already guess what happened. It would only make things worse to drill for an answer. If the girls wanted them to know, they would tell them.

A few minutes later, Tifa fell onto her own bed. Training with Olette was one thing, but training with Aerith was extremely tiring. The pink-clad woman sat on her side of the bed, leaning over, playing with her lover's long hair.

"You need to learn to take it easy on me. You almost blasted me up that one time." Tifa was complaining, but not being serious.

Aerith smiled and started making a pattern in Tifa's hair. She loved to play with Tifa's hair. That way she didn't have to fix it afterwards.

"If I weren't serious, you'd win too easily, Lofa." Aerith was giggling for no reason.

"Lofa? What's that mean?" Tifa looked up, confused.

"Your new nickname." A wide, big smile was on her face.

"But what does it mean?" Tifa wanted to get up, but Aerith was still twiddling with Tifa's hair.

"Now you're being lazy, Tifa Lockhart."

It took a few seconds until Tifa realized. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Very creative, really." Tifa sighed and closed her eyes.

"Hey, if it were too complex, you'd never get it." Aerith was making an evil smile.

"You're so mean, Raina."

"Now you're just taking random letters from my name and making up a nickname," Aerith complained.

"So? You did the same."

"At least think of something better." Aerith was still playing with Tifa's hair.

"What are you doing the whole time with my hair anyway?" Tifa grew gradually suspicious of her lover.

"Nothing, really." Aerith couldn't suppress the giggling anymore and fell down on the bed.

"I swear, if you did something to my hair again, I will—oh, goddamn it!" Tifa stood up and looked in the mirror.

Tifa's hair was made into two braids, similar to Aerith's, but shorter. It made her look really ridiculous and even though Tifa tried to undo the stylistic massacre, she couldn't manage it.

"Dear God, Aerith, each and every time you do this!"

Aerith was lying on the bed, looking at Tifa, giggling and virtually lusting over her lover with her eyes.

"I swear, deep down, you're a pervert." Tifa pointed at Aerith, slightly angry.

"And you still love me." Aerith made a overly cute expression and almost got Tifa laughing.

"But you're _still_ a pervert!"

"That's only because you're so good-looking."

"Talk about yourself." Tifa, with her hilarious hairstyle, went back to the bed, kneeling next to Aerith, looking straight in her eyes.

"Do you want another workout?" Tifa used a seducing voice, getting closer to Aerith. They could feel each other's breath on their faces.

Instead of a answer, Aerith closed the distance, kissing the black-haired woman, laying a hand around her neck. Tifa's lips were rough from the training, but they never lost their delicious taste. Aerith got pushed down on the bed by Tifa, and with that, their kiss broke up.

"Shower. Now," Aerith said and got up, away from the bed.

Tifa had a disappointed look on her face, and let herself fall on the bed. The last days had been so troublesome, it had been some time since she last slept with Aerith. And now she just had to go and take a shower.

"Are you deaf nowadays, Tifa?" Aerith was standing next to the bed, looking from above into her face.

"What? But I thought—" The black-clad woman was confused.

"When I said shower, I meant_ both of us_." Aerith took Tifa's hand and pulled her up. Giggling and smiling, they made their way over to the bathroom.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Ya got any idea what time it is…?"

Olette couldn't find a bell, so she had knocked. For about five minutes.

"Yuffie, I need you to do…me…a favor…and…" With each word, Olette blushed harder.

Yuffie opened the door, but what made Olette blush was her attire. The only thing—the one and only thing Yuffie was wearing—was a very long shirt. It barely covered her hips, but Yuffie didn't seem to mind.

"Whatcha doing here this time…?"

"Can I crash at your place for a few nights?"

"Sure, but why aren't you…oh, I see, you've had a fight with Kairi or Naminè, right?"

"Sort…of, I guess."

Alone from Olette's expression, Yuffie knew that it was no topic she would make any more jokes about.

"Come in, it's late. I was already sleepin'."

Yuffie made way and Olette stepped into the most likely worst-organized apartment in history. There was everything everywhere. No sign of order far and wide. It was a amazing view in its own chaotic way. There was no free place anywhere. Even the bed was full of stuff, mostly little colored marbles.

"You're gonna sleep in the bed."

Olette wasn't one to argue. If Yuffie let her sleep in the bed, that was good. Who was she to deny that hospitality?

"One more thing, you're not gonna sleep with yer clothes. Strip."

For some reason, when Yuffie said it, it sounded so incredibly wrong that Olette shivered for a second.

"Want something to drink? I believe I have some Malacia here…"

Yuffie started searching through the kitchen part while Olette was more or less embarrassed to undress. There was no place to put the clothes, so Olette just put them atop of Yuffie's. Any more chaos couldn't make this any worse-looking than it was.

"No, I'm fine…I just want to sleep…"

"Okay. I'll dim the lights. I find my way around in darkness just fine."

"Good night, Yuffie. And thanks for letting me in."

"Don't worry about it."

Olette closed her eyes. The bed was amazingly clean and the room too—didn't reek at all. Most of the chaos seemed to come from tools and materials Yuffie used for her weapons.

But the continuous sounds from the other room held her awake for a bit longer. She was cold and the bed wasn't all that warm. Where did Yuffie sleep if the bed was this cold?

A few minutes later, Olette was half-asleep when the noises came suddenly closer, much closer. Just what could Yuffie be doing in a dark room?

A second later, Olette knew that Yuffie had been making her way over to the bed, making a huge ruckus. Something came into the bed, and Olette could feel warm breath on her neck. To top it off, two tender arms were searching their way around her waist, pulling her closer. Olette didn't feel like freaking out, like pushing her off. It was weird, but she actually enjoyed it that someone was apparently caring for her. Her heart was longing for some comfort, and Yuffie didn't seem like a bad person to get it from.

"I thought you said I can sleep in the bed?"

"You can, can't you?"

"But—"

"I never said I was going to sleep somewhere else."

"…thank you."

"I just thought you could use someone near you."

Olette was grateful. Clinging to Yuffie, Olette finally drifted to the land of dreams.

But for the black-haired girl, sleep was still far off. She didn't want to admit it, but she had observed Olette from the corner of her eyes. Under normal circumstances, she would have teased her, maybe tried to get a kiss, but looking at her face made it clear that that would only make her feel worse.

For Yuffie, it didn't matter if it was a guy or a girl. If she was interested in a person, it didn't matter a bit. Lately, with Olette and Naminè around, her interests kind of shifted a bit. She still had an eye on Leon, but chances were she would never be able to actually get along with him, much less have him like her.

She wanted to find out what happened to Olette that made her like that. But it had to wait till tomorrow. For now, it felt good to not be alone. Yuffie would never admit it to anyone, but she was often lonely and got lonely really easily.

Maybe, just maybe…

---Valiant Hearts---

Awkward. The whole situation was awkward. Kairi ate breakfast before Naminè got up and left early. She didn't want to see the girls. Aerith woke up to the sound of the house door closing. She was still laying in Tifa's arms. It was probably just Kairi who left early. That meant she didn't want to talk about it.

Kairi spent the morning at the coffee bar. It was run by a woman named Rydia, a nice young woman with long green hair. Kairi didn't know which world she was from, but she was one of the many people who built Hollow Bastion with Ansem the Wise. At least, that was what Aerith had told her.

"What a rare sight we have here. What gets you here so early, Kairi?" Rydia was still cleaning the coffee bar, as it had just opened.

"Don't ask, please." Kairi just sat there and looked out the window.

The weather was just like her mood. Cloudy and about to rain, darker than was usual for the season. Kairi was still feeling sick and miserable from the previous day. How long would it take until she could face the girls?

"I won't ask, then." The woman smiled and continued to polish the counter.

"Thanks." Kairi just wanted the time to pass.

Staring out the window, it soon started to rain. Barely anyone came to the coffee bar when the weather was like this, and Rydia gave Kairi a big coffee as a courtesy of the house.

Kairi could feel every tick of the clock. Every second that went on stretched to feel like hours. Should she skip training? In this rain, and with her troubled mind and heart, how could she put up with Leon? It would be a waste of time.

How should she explain it? "Sorry, I feel bad about breaking the hearts of two girls, I can't train today"? That sure sounded cheesy and like a poor excuse. But why did she feel so bad about doing it to them?

Did she like them after all? But why didn't she feel anything for them aside from friendship? Kairi could only guess. Her own emotions had always been a mystery for her.

Kairi was regretting doing what she had done. It had been a stupid idea. It would've been better to just say she didn't feel anything for them _yet_.

One thing that made Kairi worry more than anything was what would happen if she did come to like one of them, or even both, eventually. Wouldn't they think she was just cruel? It was the thing that scared Kairi the most. Falling in love with them.

In Kairi's mind, she noticed one thing. The thought of liking them, the thought of falling in love with a girl, didn't seem gross or weird to her. Was it influence from living with Aerith and Tifa? Or had just something changed inside her in the last few days? Whatever it was, Kairi had changed.

---Valiant Hearts---

In other places, things were different. Much different.

"Sorry, Aerith, I…don't really have any appetite."

Naminè didn't feel like eating anything. She didn't even feel like getting up that morning. After remembering that Olette was at Yuffie's place, Naminè felt all alone.

Aerith wanted to comfort her, and it meant much to Naminè. Kairi had rejected her, and it still hurt. It didn't hurt as much as it had the night before, but Naminè wasn't particular happy that Kairi had left before she got up.

Tifa was still sleeping, and Aerith was alone with Naminè in the living room. Aerith knew how much a broken heart—unrequited love—could hurt. She had experienced it in the past and truly never wanted to feel like that again. Or, for that matter, didn't want anyone else to feel like that.

"I can imagine, I think, how you feel…" Aerith sat down next to Naminè, laying a hand on hers.

"I feel horrible…I never felt bad like this before. Why…why did Kairi reject me? Reject us?"

"Kairi rejected you? Naminè, will you tell me what happened?"

"We went…to our place. We just enjoyed being there…we really got along the last few days. I was really happy about it. Kairi started talking about the…mission all of a sudden. Olette and Kairi got really angry and yelled at each other. I felt really sick when they did that. Olette then said we were a team and that there is no 'your fault' and only 'our fault'…I thought Kairi knew it, but apparently she didn't. They made up and said it felt good to let it out…then…" Naminè made a break. It felt good to talk to someone about it.

"Kairi always tries to shoulder all the blame alone. Even when she went with one of us, and we screwed up by being outsiders in that world, Kairi would blame herself. Kairi said us she had something to tell us…and then…" Naminè didn't want to repeat it. It hurt a bit by talking about it, by admitting it, by accepting it. "… she told us she doesn't love us."

Aerith could only sigh and embrace Naminè, who looked like she would start crying any second, and rub her back. There wasn't anything she could say or do about this. Naminè had gotten her heart broken by the girl she had loved since the moment she had gotten here, and it seemed to be her first love too.

It reminded Aerith of the time Tifa was still chasing Cloud. She had secretly been in love with her for a long time, from before their world got destroyed. There had been a time she had thought about giving up, about just admitting that Tifa wasn't interested. It took over a year for the two women to get together.

Naminè was happy being comforted by Aerith. It felt good, it made the pain hurt less, knowing that someone else cared for her.

"Olette is gone too.. she said she doesn't want to see Kairi. Will her pain go away?"

"The pain will lessen…but it will never go completely away. And if she still loves her…she won't be able to forget the pain completely. Not as long as she loves her." Aerith knew that lying about such things only made it worse.

"What should I do, then? I don't want Olette to feel like that whenever she looks at Kairi. I still love her and want to be near her, but Olette wants to be apart from her. I don't want them to be separated like that."

For the moment, Aerith was just a friend she could talk with who comforted her, not the parent of the girl she was in love with.

"You can only hope. People's feelings are very delicate and easily hurt. If Olette still loves Kairi, she will come back. If she doesn't, it will take her a bit of time to get over it. They won't be the same as before, but they can be still friends."

Aerith made a break. Naminè really must be close to Olette to worry about how she was feeling even now. But what about her own feelings? She wanted to be near Kairi, but what about her feelings for her?

"Naminè, do you still love Kairi?"

Naminè took a while to answer. It was only a slight nod, her feelings were confused, but she would never completely stop loving Kairi. She still wanted to be near her at all times, wanted to see her.

"If you still love her, keep trying. Kairi has been slow with romantic things since I first knew her. It might take a while, but maybe she will requite your feelings one day. But there is no guarantee how long it will take. It could take years, or never happen. If you give up on her, you can still be near her, but as friend. Waiting for all eternity is a sad thing, and I don't want you to go through that."

Naminè didn't say anything. There wasn't a good choice. Only one less bad than the other. For her to forget about Kairi, to give up…she could never do it. She would continue trying. Even if it hurt, there was something inside her that would never allow her to forget Kairi.

Naminè had found her resolve. It was the only thing she could do for now.

"We'll skip training today. Get some rest, please. I'm not going to let you skip lunch and dinner."

Naminè nodded, finally let go of Aerith, and stood up. "Thanks. For everything."

Naminè took a deep breath. It was still early, but she wanted to see her. See Olette. She said she was at Yuffie's place, and Naminè roughly remembered where that was. She would tell Olette what her decision was.

"I'm going out for a bit."

---Valiant Hearts---

It was suffocating. Hard to breathe, as if something heavy was on top of her chest. Opening one eye, Olette saw a chaotic and messy room. Right…she was at Yuffie's place. Looking down on her, she noticed what was lying on her chest. Yuffie. To be accurate, it was Yuffie's head, and her face was buried in Olette's breasts.

Immediately blushing, the brunette tried to free herself, but every attempt only made Yuffie move along, cling to her. She was strong, but by no means as strong as Olette, and after a bit of effort, she finally got free. But what now? Get up? Olette had momentarily forgotten about Kairi, but once she was free and her face wasn't glaring red anymore, it all came back. Now, looking at Yuffie, who was innocently sleeping in her bed, didn't seem so bad a option to go back to.

Olette remembered the last night. Yuffie had come to her, embraced her, comforted her, cared for her. The other people that could have comforted her were all living in the same house as Kairi. And of all places to be, that was the one she didn't want to go to.

Olette's heart longed for comfort, longed for company. And Yuffie was there.

Making her way over to the kitchen part, it took Olette a few minutes to find out where the coffee machine was, and another couple minutes where the coffee was. It had gotten colder, it was still early, and from the sound of it, even raining.

She looked for her clothes, but couldn't find anything. The place she had put them the day before had vanished or was buried under a pile of chaos. There was little choice but to walk around in just a shirt and underpants.

The coffee was almost done, and Olette freezing, when Yuffie showed up, half-asleep but finding her way amazingly well through the chaos without stumbling or falling.

"You already up?"

"I…well, it was kind of hard to breathe with you on top of me." Olette wanted to be honest.

"Oh, I didn't do that…really? Aw, I'm sorry, Olette." Seeing Yuffie embarrassed was a fun sight and Olette couldn't suppress to giggle at it. It was the first sign of not being miserable since the last night.

"It was…a bit unpleasant." Olette was still a bit embarrassed..

"Do I look that bad?" Yuffie showed a smile, turned around and made a really sad face.

Yuffie had always been kind of alone. Having had an unrequited crush on Leon for the longest of times, and given her personality, Yuffie spent a lot of time alone in her apartment, working on weapons, tools, and just being alone. She often wanted to have just someone there to comfort her, someone there to be with her.

"No, it's just…I'm kind of wary with that stuff because of yesterday…" Olette said.

Yuffie walked over and moved behind Olette, suddenly laying both arms around her waist, leaning against her from behind. It was a huge gamble, but if Olette really had a fight with Kairi, she wouldn't turn down a bit of comfort.

"Thank you." It felt so good to have someone care about her like that. Olette closed her eyes. Yuffie was impulsive, intrusive, and all the time a tease It seemed stupid to jump onto someone else like that, but Olette didn't mind what Yuffie was doing in the slightest.

"What do you think about me, Yuffie?"

An awkward silence fell over them. It took Yuffie a moment to decide. Would she go with the truth, or would she tell what Olette wanted to hear?

"You're cute, strong, and from what I hear, dependable. Also, you're fun to tease."

"Kairi rejected Naminè and me. That's why I'm here. I just thought you should know that."

Yuffie wasn't particularly happy to hear that. It always hurt to have unrequited feelings. And if Olette didn't want to see Kairi, Yuffie would let her stay.

"Stay as long as you want. I'll not charge you anything. It's been a while since I've slept so well."

There was an awkward moment between the two girls and none of them dared to look at each other's face. They went back to reality when the coffee machine made a beeping sound.

Olette poured the coffee in two cups, giving one to Yuffie.

"Can you tell me where my clothes are?"

"I'll trade a cup of coffee for that info."

Olette gave a cup of coffee to Yuffie, who immediately sipped at it and showed a thumbs up. "End of the bed."

Olette placed her cup on a tiny free place, going back to the bed. Looking for her clothes, Olette crawled over the bed. It was so cold, Yuffie must have no heater, or had at least turned it off.

Yuffie let her cup stand next to Olette's and crawled next to Olette, who had just picked up her clothes.

"Let the clothes be, it's still early. I'm going back into bed. Won't you join me? I promise to be all gentle 'n stuff," Yuffie said, and crawled back to her pillow.

Olette spent a split second thinking about what Yuffie said, then dismissed it as teasing. Spending time with her didn't seem so bad. It was better than anything else she could think of in the moment. She didn't have anything to do. Putting back her clothes—at least she knew now where they were—Olette got back in the bed. Looking directly at Yuffie was too embarrassing, so she turned around and lay on her side with her back directed to Yuffie.

They were interrupted right away. Someone was knocking on the door.

"You go. No way someone is coming for me this early. I usually sleep till ten."

Olette sighed and got up, finding her way through the chaos. At some point, she would force Yuffie to clean at least a path from the bed to the door and to the kitchen.

Opening the door, Olette saw an unexpected guest. A warm feeling came up inside her. It was nice to see the blond girl, even if it was virtually freezing outside.

"Naminè!"

"I wanted to see if you're okay, Olette."

"I'm okay. Yuffie let me in and even though it's a hell of chaos in here, it's okay."

"That's all on purpose!" Yuffie shouted from the other room.

"Naminè, are you…okay? You seem different from last night."

"I talked about it with Aerith. Olette…I…won't give up on Kairi. I just can't."

It was not all that surprising for Olette. Naminè had been in love with Kairi since forever. But that she would come and tell her like this…the girl wasn't as weak as Olette had thought.

"What will you do?" Naminè was asking, looking at Olette.

"I don't know. I just don't want to see her right now. Will you come in?"

Naminè shook her head. She wanted to talk to Kairi. Maybe she was already back home.

"I'm happy you came to see me. I already started to miss you."

Naminè giggled and took Olette's hand. "What kind of friend wouldn't come by to see how her best friend is doing? And…I miss you too. It's hard to be apart from you."

Olette was a bit moved, and when Naminé let go and ran down the stairs, she took a deep breath. If Naminè could show such strength, then it was time she stopped pitying herself.

---Valiant Hearts---

The day went by uneventfully. All three girls ditched training that day and went separate ways. Kairi spent her whole day staring at the rain, letting feelings of regret and rage about her own stupidity overwhelm her.

Naminè kept looking for Kairi, but the redhead never showed up for lunch or dinner. Naminè had no appetite and didn't eat much. Aerith had told Tifa that it was better not to ask. Even though she had promised not to tell anyone, she told Tifa a few important things about what happened. Tifa was often impulsive, but not dumb. She knew better than to mention any of it to Naminè. Olette never showed up for training, but she had expected as much.

Olette's day was much different from the others'. Olette spent most of her time watching Yuffie working on her tools and talking to her. Yuffie was back to teasing Olette, like she usually did, and constantly making more chaos.

The day went by uneventfully, and the night came. Kairi returned home long after night had fallen. Rydia had closed that evening and Kairi aimlessly wandered about the town. She waited until all of the lights were gone in her home. How could she face Naminè and Olette in the future? Avoiding them forever was impossible. The next mission would come, and it would inevitably lead to meetings, to working with them.

Was she…running away from this? Running away from facing her inner demons? Maybe she was. It was her own fault that all of this had happened. Maybe she should have just told them it wasn't their fault, that she just wasn't able to feel romantic about them. The day had been long, and Kairi had thought about a lot of things.

What if it only took time for her? Kairi had come to like them in just a few weeks, but what would things look like in a month? In a year? What if she fell in love with one, or worse, both of them? She had thought about it before, but if she kept running away from this, all her chances to resolve this mess would vanish into thin air.

It was time to stop running away. To face reality. The next day, Kairi would talk to them.

Naminè had lain awake for a long time. Aerith and Tifa had gone to bed, and Naminè looked outside the window, lying in Olette's bed. Her smell sort of calmed her down.

Naminè had chosen to keep pursuing Kairi no matter what happened. Alone, the thought of giving up on Kairi, the girl who rescued her, who made her life worthwhile, was making her feel sick.

But there was something else. Naminè could feel _something_ connecting her to Kairi. Something that went beyond simple love, beyond anything she had an explanation for. It was hard to describe, to put into words. Naminè could feel Kairi, could feel what she felt. Naminè remembered feeling it once, in the castle when she was held prisoner. Since then, it had gone. But now, since Kairi had rejected her, it was back. Not only did Naminè have to deal with her own feelings, she had to deal with Kairi's too.

But it was also something that enforced her decision to try harder with Kairi. If there was something like that connecting them, it was just wrong to ignore it. Naminè tried to explore it, tried to dig deeper into Kairi's feelings. Only this time, she actually felt something else than sadness.

Regret.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette spent her whole day with Yuffie, and they had done nothing but assemble weird things and laugh, and Yuffie teased Olette while they had fun. They were tired and in bed, still talking. The conversation took a grave turn around when Yuffie brought up a sensitive subject.

"Did you cry about her?"

Olette didn't. On the observation deck with Naminè, she shed a few single tears, but it wasn't crying. Afterwards, she had confined her sadness inside herself, but being with Yuffie helped a great deal with that.

"No."

Olette didn't like thinking about it. It didn't hurt anywhere near as much as the day before, but it still felt bad. How long would it take to completely forget that pain?

"Maybe you should. Letting it all out could help."

Crying never helped. That was Olette's opinion on it. But what if Yuffie was right? Just crying once, when nobody but Yuffie saw it, wouldn't mean the end of the world.

"If I ever feel like crying again, I'll come to you," Olette said.

She just didn't feel like crying anymore. For now, she was feeling a bit better.

"Olette…"

Yuffie's voice was so serious that Olette turned around, wondering what Yuffie had to say.

Before she could react to anything, Yuffie's face was only a breath's distance away from hers, two tender arms were pulling her closer. Olette felt two small soft lips meeting her own, and closed her eyes in reflex. Yuffie was kissing her with passion, and Olette was either too surprised to push her away, or just didn't want to.

Seconds later, Yuffie broke away, and looked in the eyes of the brunette. There was no anger, just bafflement. Yuffie had a thing for Olette's tomboyish nature, and she was quite attractive too—so cute that the urge to kiss her had just suddenly come up.

Olette was speechless. Her first real kiss, not counting the one with Naminè, stolen by Yuffie. It felt good, but she had no experience. Olette suddenly got embarrassed about how amateurish she must have acted.

"Was that your first kiss?" Yuffie was a bit surprised at how stunned Olette was.

"Y-yeah…"

"Well, mine too. I'd say that makes us even, no?" That was just the kind of logic Yuffie had.

Olette wanted to say something, but she still could feel Yuffie's lips on hers, and she could feel the redness in her face. That was just something she expected from Yuffie. But…for some reason, Olette couldn't be really angry.

"I'm going to sleep." The brunette turned around and closed her eyes.

A few seconds went by without anything happening. Yuffie had a true devil's smile, and as soon as her hands moved around Olette's body, the brunette went up, startled and surprised. Just how far was Yuffie going to go? She had just groped her!

"Damn it. Aerith was right, you have bigger boobs than I do. That's so unfair."

Olette was too shocked to be speechless. Yuffie was really a tease, one of the worst kind.

"No groping!" Olette said, and looked straight at Yuffie, who averted her gaze and waved with her hands. It had happened on an impulse when Yuffie remembered Aerith's comment.

"Okay, okay."

Yuffie instead closed in and tried to kiss Olette again but failed. The Keyblader was too fast and put a hand on Yuffie's mouth.

"No sudden kissing!"

"Prude." Yuffie made a sulking face, turned around and lay down.

Olette had been teased enough for that night. She lay down with her back to Yuffie, and closed her eyes. Not even a minute later, she could feel Yuffie moving closer, laying her arms around her.

"I'm not groping you." Yuffie's tone had suddenly changed, went from her usual playful one to a serious one.

She really wasn't. Yuffie only laid her arms around her waist, hugging her like before.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi couldn't sleep. If telling them she didn't love them was hard, telling them now that it was a mistake and that she wanted her friends back was even harder.

But Kairi had made her decision. If they were willing to forgive her, she was willing to…wait. Wait and tell them if she really felt something.

Kairi found Naminè at breakfast and Naminè went up the instant she saw Kairi. She stood right in front of her, looking straight at Kairi.

"Kairi…listen."

The redhead hadn't anticipated that, but nodded. Whatever Naminè had to say, whatever she would do, no matter how much she cursed her, hit her, slapped her, Kairi would take it. It had been her error, her wrong decision, and she had to take the consequences. She had to stop running away.

Naminè turned around, took a deep breath, and turning around once again. It took a lot of courage to even open her mouth. After a few failed attempts to get out any coordinated words, Naminè took another deep breath.

"I'll be blunt. I'm not going to let you go. I'll keep trying. If you don't like me, I'll make you."

Kairi was speechless. Not only did Naminè say that, she even did it while looking straight in her eyes.

"You really mean that? I mean…Naminè. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have rejected both of you like that. I can't guarantee that I'll _never_ feel anything for you, so I shouldn't say I can't be with you."

Kairi found it hard to continue. But she had decided to stop running away from hard decisions. Looking on the ground for a second, Kairi took a breath and finished her speech.

"I have…to tell Olette that too. I'm sorry for rejecting you. I regret it. I know this might awkward, but I feel that if I don't do this…we will walk apart."

Naminè looked at Kairi with big eyes. She hadn't expected Kairi to come up and say something like that. It made her feel happy that Kairi was feeling like that about her, about Olette. Kairi still wanted to be friends with them, and that was something very important to Naminè.

"Where is Olette?"

"She's at Yuffie's place. She didn't want to be near you for a while. I'll go with you if you go to see her."

"I'll go now. I want this to be over. No more running away."

Kairi didn't lose a second and walked out the door, followed by Naminè, who had a slab of bread in her mouth, eating away as she followed Kairi.

"I hope she won't hit me. Olette is freaking strong," Kairi said, and Naminè giggled.

"I won't stand for it. I know Olette, and she won't be pleased with what you have to say."

"I still hope I'll be in one piece after it."

Kairi felt nauseous. Naminè was one thing, the girl had always loved her, but Olette was different. Kairi hoped she could fix it, could fix their relationship.

Knocking on Yuffie's door, after a few minutes, Olette opened up, dressed in some of Yuffie's work clothes, and splotched with oil all over.

Seeing Kairi wasn't pleasant at all. She even wanted to close the door as fast as possible, but seeing that Naminè was with her, something inside wanted her to listen.

"Olette, please listen to me. I'm sorry. I feel stupid for rejecting you two, and I regret doing it. I can't guarantee what I'll feel in the future. If you want to hit me, do it. I know it's a awkward thing to say, but I don't want to lose you as friend. Not now, not ever."

Olette listened, and once Kairi finished, Yuffie showed up, same attire and splotched all over the place with oil.

"I'm not going to hit you, Kairi. I'm not mad, not anymore. But I didn't expect you to say sorry."

Olette looked at Naminè and then at the ground. It hurt to look at her directly.

"But that isn't how it works, Kairi…what you said hurt, and saying you're sorry isn't going to change that. Seeing and talking to you hurts."

Olette looked sad for a moment, then turned around, taking a deep breath and making a big sigh.

"Just leave me alone for now."

With that, Olette vanished into Yuffie's apartment, and the black-haired girl took her place.

"That's how it is. Nothing personal, Kairi, but I doubt she'll want you to come in. See ya later."

With that, Yuffie closed the door. Naminè didn't dare to look at Kairi. With slouched shoulders, Kairi went down the stairs.

How would she get her friend back?

End of Chapter XV


	16. Awakening – Crossroads

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XVI

_Awakening - _

_Crossroads_

Olette had spent the last two days with Yuffie and had no intention of going back home for now. She couldn't stay at Yuffie's place forever, but it was a nice time being there, and the brunette didn't want it to end yet. She had skipped Tifa's training twice in a row now.

"Really? She kissed you?"

Yuffie was lying on top of a wall, looking at the sky and talking with Olette, who sat next to her, looking down at her.

"Stop saying it as if it were intentional! I told you that she was sleeping and she just happened to move over and—"

"I bet you were all blushing and red and embarrassed and—"

"Yuffie! You're a terrible tease, seriously. I don't feel like that about her and you know that!"

Olette was complaining and Yuffie once again started laughing and turned over to avoid seeing the tomboy's fierce red face.

"Yeah, sure. Maybe I should tell Kairi, I wonder what she'd say about—"

Yuffie put a hand on her mouth, but it was too late. Olette was still a bit sensitive when it came to Kairi, and the trickster had tried not to talk about her. It was nice and fun teasing Olette, but not if she got depressed over it.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"I'm fine. Really. But I'm so not going to forgive you if you tell Naminè that she...me by accident!"

Olette whispered "kissed" and jumped on top of Yuffie, starting to tickle her. Olette had learned that Yuffie's weak spots were her ribs and she mercilessly abused that knowledge to punish her for being a tease.

"Ah, stop it, stop it, I give up." Yuffie was laughing with tears in her eyes.

Olette stopped on request and went back to her sitting position, looking over the town. Yuffie had told her about the time the Heartless had taken over Hollow Bastion. It was unbelievable that the town was already this peaceful.

"I thought I was gonna die." Yuffie was breathing heavily, still lying on the wall.

Olette grinned and looked down at Yuffie. They hadn't done much the last two days but lazily lay around and work on some of Yuffie's tools. It wasn't anything special, but Olette enjoyed her time with Yuffie.

"You still owe me for letting you stay at my place," Yuffie started out of nowhere.

Olette knew. But she had no money, so what else could Yuffie want?

"I'm gonna take my pay for today. Close your eyes for a moment."

That couldn't be anything good, but she was used to Yuffie's teasing by now. It wasn't that bad, really, but sometimes the ninja was quite the sadist.

Closing her eyes, Olette could feel Yuffie getting into an upright position next to her. Would she tackle her off the wall? That was dangerous; even Yuffie wouldn't do that. Tickle her? Olette wasn't really weak to that. What...

Something was really close to her face and breathing on it. Out of reflex, Olette opened her eyes, looked directly into Yuffie's peridot eyes, and backed away from her without thinking. Yuffie acted faster than Olette. She lay one hand on her neck and pulled Olette towards her.

Olette hadn't really kissed anyone before, but even though Yuffie seemed forceful, it wasn't like that at all. It was the opposite, the black-haired girl was really gentle and cautious. It was a nice feeling. Yuffie's lips weren't especially soft or anything, but to Olette, they did seem that way. It took her a few seconds to realize what was going on—that Yuffie was kissing her—to make her finally pull away.

She wanted to be angry, wanted to give Yuffie a evil glare, but things didn't work that way. With a surprised look and blushing like a ripe tomato, Olette looked at the ninja who was smiling like a rainbow.

"What wa—"

Yuffie hold a finger upright before her face. "Payment, lovely, payment. Or rather, first rate."

Olette went back to a normal color and sighed. That was Yuffie alright. But to kiss her...!

"Sexual harassment."

Yuffie was looking a bit confused. "What?"

"Sexual harassment. You kissed me without my consent and—"

"You seemed to quite enjoy it. That's plenty of consent." Yuffie was back to smiling in a mean way.

Olette couldn't argue with that. She had enjoyed it. And it wasn't so bad, actually. She just wanted to tease Yuffie.

"And the next time you're going to grope me, huh?" Olette could be mean too.

"You sure are bold. I can do it right now if you want." But Yuffie was on a different level.

Slightly blushing, Olette turned around, crossing her arms before her chest. She never knew when Yuffie was serious and when not. Better not take the risk.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna do that." Yuffie waved her hand and whispered something to herself.

"You just said 'not here anyway', didn't you!" Olette slowly backed away from Yuffie.

"Maybe."

The devil. Yuffie was the devil. But Olette liked her anyway. It never got boring with her around.

"Want to go and watch Naminè's training?"

Yuffie seemed to think about it for quite a few minutes. Olette was looking at the clouds that were slowly flowing with the wind far above them. The sky was a wonderful blue that day.

No answer came. Olette looked down on Yuffie's face and she had her eyes closed. Was she thinking? Or...

"Don't pretend to be asleep or I'm gonna throw you off the wall," Olette said in a purposefully cold tone.

"Yeah, let's go." Yuffie was wide awake and smiled awkwardly.

"You go first. Who knows what you'll do to me when I let you behind me, you pervert."

Yuffie sighed and went first, jumping from the wall onto a nearby roof. From there she leapt onto a pile of boxes and onto the ground. Olette followed after and kept an eye on Yuffie. She hadn't made a big deal out of the kiss because she hadn't really minded. It had felt nice and she even slept together with her in a bed.

"Want to make a bet?" Yuffie was saying.

"Why not? What are the stakes and what about?"

"Whoever's first at the canyon and touches Naminè," Yuffie said, and starting running.

Olette was confused for a moment, but then noticed that the ninja hadn't mentioned what the stakes were. But she wouldn't lose to Yuffie, whatever the odds were. Olette started running and had almost caught up with Yuffie when she started shouting something.

"If I win, you have to go on a date with me."

Olette was so surprised that she lost her balance and hit the ground, Yuffie laughing and getting away. By the time Olette got up, Yuffie was not in sight.

"Now she's done it."

Summoning both of her Keyblades, Olette utilized her full power and made a astonishing run for it. Yuffie was evil to the core for pulling such a trick to get an advantage over Olette.

At the entrance to the canyon, Olette finally caught up with Yuffie, who looked rather amazed that she had managed to get there that fast. However, going at full power took its toll, and Olette and Yuffie ran, neck and neck, towards Naminè and Aerith, who were in the middle of training.

"If I win, you have to pay me a thousand munny for each time you tease me for one week."

"You're insane!" Yuffie shouted and went ahead of Olette.

Aerith and Naminè had already noticed the two girls that were running towards them like mad. Naminè was in the middle of a fire spell when Yuffie and Olette simultaneously jumped towards her, causing Naminè to lose control of the spell that detonated right over them, causing a huge dust cloud.

"I won!" Olette was shouting.

"No, I did!" Yuffie replied.

When the dust cloud vanished, an angry Naminè was squashed under Yuffie and Olette, who both had landed directly on top of her. While Olette had grabbed her shoulder, Yuffie had gotten a hold of a leg.

"Get off of me, now!" Naminè shouted, and both girls got up, amazed by that outburst.

"What are you girls doing?" Aerith was confused and looked rather angrily at Yuffie and Olette.

"A bet. Who'd be the fastest to run down from the living quarter and touch Naminè," Yuffie explained. "And I won."

"You didn't. Naminè, tell her," Olette defended herself.

"You both crashed into me out of nowhere. How am I supposed to tell anything?!" Naminè said angrily, turning around.

"We're in the middle of training. Olette, Tifa wants to talk with you. You really shouldn't skip her training. She is worried about you."

Olette felt guilty, but didn't really want to go to training. Tifa would surely ask her about Kairi and she wanted to avoid that.

"Let's consider this a draw and get out of here before Naminè blows us up," Yuffie whispered.

"Sorry about that, Naminè. See you later!" Olette shouted, and ran off with Yuffie.

"Those two...nothing but nonsense on their minds," Aerith grumbled, and helped Naminè clean dust off her dress.

"But they seem to get along fine," Naminè said.

---Valiant Hearts---

"It's your fault that Naminè is angry with me." Olette seemed really cold and distant.

"You accepted the bet, and you also crashed into her. Don't give me all the blame."

Olette only sighed and ordered a coffee from the waitress that was walking by. "Put some milk in it, please."

Yuffie leaned forward and flicked Olette's forehead. She couldn't stand being ignored.

"Ouch. What was that for?"

"Ignoring me. I don't like that."

Olette made an angry face, and without further notice, leaned forward and also snipped Yuffie's forehead.

"What do we do about the bet?" Yuffie was asking, rubbing her forehead.

"You didn't bet on anything, and we don't know who won anyway," Olette said, taking her coffee from the waitress.

"Of course I did. If I win, you're going on a date with me, I said."

Olette almost spat her coffee out. That hadn't been just a taunt? Yuffie was serious about that?

"You could just have asked to go on a date, tch." Olette sighed.

She didn't really mean it. It would have been really weird to have Yuffie ask her out on a date. She had never been on a date, and with Yuffie, that would be a hell of permanent teasing.

"Go on a date with me, will ya?"

Olette was so surprised that she swallowed way too much of the hot coffee and started coughing. Who in her right mind would ask bluntly like that right after the other party told so?

"I was joking!" Olette said, still coughing.

"And I'm serious. I thought you'd decline if I asked like this, so I made it a bet. I'd say we had a draw. You go on a date with me, and I won't tease you at all that day."

"It was a week! And a thousand munny for each time you would!" Olette started arguing.

"Do you really want that? Would be kind of boring." Yuffie knew that Olette didn't really mind as much as she made it seem.

"Okay, you win."

Olette sighed and took a nip of coffee.

"Hey, Rydia, do you know if Cid finally got around to repairing the cinema?"

"I doubt it. He's been working on something else."

"Tch. Useless Cid. Well, I asked for the date, so I'm gonna figure out what we can do. Most things are still being repaired. I never asked, but what are your hobbies?"

Olette couldn't decide if she was amazed by Yuffie's bluntness or simply amused by it. Either way, it didn't look like the date would be all that bad. Yuffie seemed really serious about it.

"I spent most of my time playing Struggle...err...I'll explain that another time...and sitting on a hill, watching trains come and go. I always wanted to go to the beach back there, but never made it."

"The beach, huh? Never been there in this world."

"Don't stress yourself. The date isn't today. I decided to drop by Tifa's to do some training. I feel bad about skipping out."

"You're such a good girl, it's blinding me!" Yuffie covered her eyes with her hand, as if Olette was emitting a bright light.

"Way to exaggerate. I'll see you later, Yuffie. Take care of the bill for me, okay?"

"Wait!" Yuffie shouted, but Olette was already gone.

"Should I put it on your tab, Yuffie?" Rydia rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Yeah..." The ninja sighed, and started thinking.

"The beach, huh?"

---Valiant Hearts---

"She's back, Aerith."

"Olette, we're still training. You barely left here half an hour ago," Aerith said, looking a bit annoyed.

"I decided to stop skipping training. Do you know where Tifa is?"

"Probably home, being lazy." Aerith rolled her eyes.

"I'll check. Thanks."

"I hope Tifa will be busy again. The last two days she cooked out of boredom. My stomach still hurts," Naminè said.

"Don't let her hear that. I love her food, but I understand if it's a tad too spicy for you girls." Aerith giggled for a moment.

Naminè gave a nod and took a deep breath. The training had gotten harder after they had come back from their trip to Port Royal, which is what Leon decided the world would be called.

Naminè had gotten better as well. She was able to repeatedly use grade two instantaneous magic and was learning more difficult types of magic like lightning and gravity now. There were a lot of problems with gravity magic, as it proved to be really incompatible with Naminé. She was rather skilled with fire, ice, and cure, but she was really bad with gravity.

"We'll only try a few more times and then stop for today. You've worked really hard the last two days. You can take it easy today."

"Thanks. I want to support Kairi, and I need to become stronger for that."

Aerith smiled. She was thinking of how Naminè reminded her of Tifa, who always worked hard to get stronger to help Cloud. Hoping that things wouldn't turn out like they had with Tifa and Cloud, Aerith resumed training with her apprentice.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Don't wanna."

Tifa was lying on the couch and listening to music that could only be described as very loud guitar and yelling. Olette was standing behind her, talking to her. It had cost her quite a bit of effort to go in, but it hadn't felt all that bad to see this place after a few days of not being there.

"Oh, come on. I know I shouldn't have skipped training, but I really wasn't in any condition to go."

"Look, how about you tell me you're sorry that you left here without a word and stayed at Yuffie's place? And then you skipped training too. I didn't hear one word from you telling us what happened or even that you'd be staying at Yuffie's place," Tifa said, totally indifferent towards Olette.

"I don't suppose if I say sorry now it will do anything." Olette looked at the ground with a guilty expression.

"No. If you want to show me you're sorry, just stay there and wait."

Olette stood there, waiting. Five minutes passed without Tifa even moving a finger. The longer she listened to the music, the better it sounded. There was a rhythm to it, a melody, but it was much more powerful than anything she had ever heard.

"What's this music called?"

"You're still here?!" Tifa abruptly looked over her shoulder. "Metal. Heavy metal, to be accurate."

"It's not bad, but you really need to get used to it," Olette said, liking it better with each second.

"You think so? Aerith hates my music, so I only ever listen to it when she is out."

Tifa seemed to be more interested in talking to Olette about music than seeing her being sorry.

"Yeah. Now that I listen to it...guitar, bass, drums...is that another guitar in there?" Olette was observing the music with her ears.

"You've got good ears. And good taste." Looking at the clock, it was still about two hours until Aerith came back from training with Naminè. That was plenty of time.

"Take a seat. I'll show you one of my favorite tracks." Tifa went up and changed one CD for another.

Loud and strong guitar riffs came out of the boxes. A female vocalist was singing. The lyrics were interesting, to say the least.

_Go now, if you want it_

_Another world awaits you_

_Don't you give up on it_

_You bite the hand that feeds you_

"What's this band called?" Olette was now sitting on the couch, next to Tifa, who was lying on the couch with closed eyes, enjoying the music.

"The White Mages. They're an awesome band, one of the best."

"Never heard of them," Olette answered truthfully. But she liked the music, the sound of it. "I wish I could play like that."

Tifa started laughing and then took a deep breath. "Don't think about it. Playing an instrument is hard work. I used to play the piano, way back in my own world, but I haven't touched one in many years. Aerith tells me it's a pity, she really likes the piano."

"How about this track?" The previous song had ended and a new, more powerful song played, which went higher and higher, only to just suddenly drop.

"It's awesome. What's its name?"

"'The Decisive Battle.' There are no vocals like in most of the songs from The Black Mages, but they're still damn good."

The name reminded Olette of why she had come here in the first place. She wanted go get back intro training.

"Tifa, listen, I—"

"Psh. Be quiet and enjoy the music." Tifa made an annoyed face. It was one of her rare chances to listen to her music without Aerith nagging her about it.

Olette didn't dare to speak up again, she didn't want to lose the sympathy Tifa had found for her.

---Valiant Hearts---

"You're spacing out, Kairi. Training is over for today. I can't have you like this. Get yourself together. You have the weekend off, so use the time," Leon said, and walked off.

Deep down, he was worried about her. It wasn't like her to space out like this. Not like her at all.

"Shit...it's still bothering me," Kairi swore, and kicked a rock. Dematerializing Oathkeeper, she looked to the sky. She didn't feel like doing anything for now. She felt like just going home and lying down. She had to come up with a way to be friends with Olette again. But that was much easier said than done.

While walking back, Kairi bumped into Naminè, who apparently had finished her training as well.

"Aerith isn't with you?"

"She's shopping for dinner. One more day of Tifa's food and we'll die, I told her."

"Better not let Tifa hear that," Kairi giggled.

"I won't." Naminè joined Kairi's giggle.

Things were mostly back to before, except they weren't awkward at all. Kairi knew that whatever she did, Naminè wouldn't stop wanting to go out with her. She might as well get along with her and tell her whenever she got too close. It had worked pretty well so far, and Kairi didn't even need to tell Naminè anything. It was better than in the beginning, even.

"Leon literally kicked me out. Tomorrow and the whole weekend I won't have training, only enough time to sort out my thoughts."

"Will you tell me what's on your mind?" Naminè asked, and stopped.

"You know what's on my mind, Naminè." Kairi turned around and looked at the blonde girl.

"But I want you to tell me, not to guess at your feelings."

"It bothers me that Olette seems to be avoiding me now. I hope it won't stay like this. I like her." With a swift gaze at Naminè, she added, "as a friend."

"I know. You can't think of us as anything but friends. For now, that is fine. But one day, I will change your feelings."

Kairi blushed and turned her back on Naminè. "You hang out with Aerith too much. You almost sound like her now. "

"You think so? I like Aerith. I don't think it's a bad thing to be like her." Naminè walked past Kairi and looked over her shoulder, smiling at the redhead.

"Let's go home, Kairi. I sure hope Tifa hasn't started cooking yet..."

Kairi nodded, took a deep breath, and walked forward.

She was right, Naminè was right. People couldn't read her mind. She had to talk to them to make them understand. It felt much better now that Naminè had spoken openly about her interest in her. The pressure was gone, and it didn't feel awkward to be with her.

"There is some awesome noise coming from our house." Naminè pointed in the direction their house was.

"I guess that's Tifa, listening to her music at maximum volume. She always does that when Aerith is out of the house. I don't mind the music, but she turns up the volume too far. Worse, she refuses to turn the volume down. Let's go to the Sand Pearl."

"The Sand Pearl?" Naminè asked, slightly confused.

"Rydia's coffee shop. I guess you don't know yet. I often go there when I need to think."

"I don't think I want to expose myself to music of that volume...so yeah, let's go."

Naminè took Kairi's hand as if it were only natural to do so and smiled. Kairi averted her eyes but didn't take her hand away. Acting distant towards Naminè really hurt for some reason.

"At least I can hold your hand without you snapping, unlike when I first got here," Naminè teased the redhead.

"You didn't just 'hold my hand' back when you first got here," Kairi teased back, giving Naminè such an overly serious glare that they both started laughing.

"I hope you can get along with Olette. I don't think she simply gave up on you."

Kairi sighed, remembering the scene from two days ago. She hadn't figured out how to deal with the problem yet. For now, all she could do was wait for Olette to forgive her.

"Don't let it bother you too much. Olette is really, really tough. She won't give up from just that."

"That's what you think, Naminè. She looked really disappointed back there. I feel still horrible when I imagine her face."

Naminè stopped and stared at Kairi with a very unusually serious look. "Kairi, absolutely nothing good will come out of beating yourself up over this."

Kairi was puzzled for a moment and looked oddly at Naminè. "Aerith told you to say that, didn't she?" Kairi smiled a little evilly, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"You figured it out already? That's so unfair," Naminè complained.

"It's not like you to say something like that. But it's very like Aerith. You're influenced by her too much." Kairi started teasing her again.

"You could use some influence from her too. At least you could be more open about your feelings then!" Naminè let her hand go and took a few steps forward.

"...what direction is the Sand Pearl in?" Naminè asked without turning around.

"Not only influence from Aerith but from Olette too. Jeez, you get influenced too easily," Kairi said, and stepped up to the blonde girl.

"Influence this, influence that, you sound like a broken record!" Naminè said, and turned around, a wide smile on her face.

"Aren't you worse for liking a broken record?"

"Meanie!" Naninè couldn't hold back any longer and started giggling.

"My pleasure," Kairi said and bowed, joining her giggling.

"We're terrible actors," Naminè said, taking Kairi's hand again.

"I know. Doesn't stop us, though."

Kairi led the way and Naminè saw the Sand Pearl for the first time.

"Rydia is a really nice woman. She was here even before Leon and the others. She lost her home world to the Heartless like most people here."

"Are all people in Hollow Bastion from other worlds?" Naminè was a bit astonished.

"Most are. Ansem the Wise brought them to this world, and they built this place to give people who lost their world a home." Kairi made a short break. "That's what Aerith told me."

She had met Ansem, and he was by no means a wise man. He had been corrupted by darkness and had tried to destroy the worlds, to engulf them in darkness. Even the highest minds could fall deep.

"Is it hard for you?"

Kairi stopped, not knowing what Naminé was getting at.

"I know you're pushing yourself to act like this. It feels odd for you to play along. I don't want you to keep doing that. It's...weird." Naminè averted her eyes.

Kairi looked at the ground and let go of Naminè. She was right, she wasn't being her usual self, but how could she be? Olette was still upset with her.

"You're right. But I wanted to stop running away from my problems. I've never been to anyone what you want to be for me."

"That doesn't mean you have to stop being yourself. I like you for who you are, Kairi. Not for who you right now pretend to be."

"...I see."

Naminè walked past Kairi, again smiling. "Just be yourself."

Kairi's thoughts were a mess. Was it wrong to try her hardest to live up to Naminé's expectations? She wanted to get along with her, but now Naminè told her she should stop pushing herself so hard. Why?

"You're thinking too hard again. It's written on your face, big and wide. Stop doing that, Kairi. People like you, even if you don't fulfill everyone's expectations. You're doing your best. That is enough."

"But—"

"No buts!" Naminè had gotten loud. "Don't always think so hard. Just do what your heart tells you to."

Kairi looked into the eyes of a very serious Naminè. Was that really the right thing to do? Just listen to her heart, to hear emotions?

"I..."

---Valiant Hearts---

Tifa got hit on the back of her head with a coiled up magazine.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

The next attack hit Olette.

"Why me too?"

Aerith was towering over the two of them. When she had come home, Tifa was showing Olette several of her treasured CDs. Olette had totally forgotten why she had come home in the first place.

Aerith looked down at Tifa, who was sitting on the couch. "You. I don't care if you listen to this infernal noise when I'm not around, but to drag Olette into liking this stuff is just wrong."

She turned to Olette. "And you! I thought you were going to ask Tifa to resume training. What happened to your decision?"

"I, um, sort of got distracted. I did ask Tifa to train me! She just didn't want to."

Tifa looked, shocked, over to Olette, like she had just sold her out to the devil.

Aerith was looking rather angry. Very angry. "Tifa, I thought we talked about this. We decided to personally train them and not have Leon assign people for that. We wanted to ensure they could protect Kairi when we aren't around."

"Give me a break, Aerith." Tifa rolled her eyes. "I didn't say I would never train her again, I just didn't feel like it today. You're overreacting. What is wrong with you, anyway? Did something happen?"

Aerith's mood changed quickly, from angry to excited. Cid had told her some news and Tifa would be even more excited than she was if she heard. To find her and Olette fooling around with CDs instead of training had just turned all the excitement into anger.

"You won't guess what's finally done." Aerith had a huge grin on her face.

"Just tell me. You know I hate your cryptic messages and riddles."

"The Seventh Heaven. Cid finished building it."

"What, really? Took him long enough!" Tifa jumped off the couch so abruptly that Olette was startled.

"He says he still needs to do details here and there, but it should be less than a week until we can open." Aerith grabbed Tifa by the wrist, preventing her from running off.

"What are you two on about?" Olette had gotten curious.

"Back in our world, I owned a pub in the slums called Seventh Heaven. I asked Cid to build a pub here since we don't have one. Nobody else has any experience running one, so Aerith and I will do it."

Olette was astonished. "You two are full of surprises, aren't you?"

"If you knew what else they've been doing back in their own world, you'd be even more amazed."

All three of them turned around to look at the black-haired girl who stood in the door.

"Yo."

"You know I don't like it when you tell people unnecessarily about our past." Tifa gave Yuffie an explicit glare.

"Just sayin'. Don't get angry, Tifa. I heard the news about the pub. I can help out if you want."

"You'd rob our customers." Aerith showed an evil grin.

"Oh come on. You know I don't steal from people."

"Not anymore," Aerith added.

"Point taken. You're still angry about what happened in Wutai, aren't you?"

"No, I'm just teasing you. If you want to work in the pub, ask Tifa," Aerith said, and left for the kitchen, giving both Tifa and Olette a this isn't over yet glare.

Tifa looked at Yuffie and sighed. To refuse her wouldn't do any good. With a wink, Tifa signalized her approval. "I wanted someone to do the waitress job anyway, since I'll be behind the bar and Aerith will be in the kitchen. No goofing around at work."

Olette felt a bit left out and decided to ask a question she had been wondering ever since she arrived in Hollow Bastion.

"What did you live on until now if you're only now picking up jobs?"

"Committee money. Since Hollow Bastion is getting better, though, it would be really impudent to keep relying on that money. I really like working in a pub, too, so one comes to another," Tifa explained.

Olette assumed it had been something like that. Rebuilding a world took a lot of effort, especially on the administration level, and they didn't have time to work normally.

"Most of Hollow Bastion doesn't need supervising from us anymore. Only a few parts, and we can manage that outside of work."

Tifa stood up and looked down at Olette. It was time the girl learned to train independently from her. "Once the pub is open, you will have to train alone, or with Kairi and Naminè."

With that, Tifa walked away upstairs, and left Olette alone with Yuffie.

"Is that really what you want? To get back into training?" Yuffie asked Olette.

"Yeah. I feel it's the right thing to do."

Her voice was completely free of doubt.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I never thought you would say that, Kairi."

Naminè was sitting on the roof, next to Kairi.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. There is no reason for you to be."

Naminè's voice was sounding really odd.

Kairi didn't want to say anything, and it felt rather awkward between them now. The previous easy atmosphere was completely gone.

Why did she say that? Where had it come from? Listening to her heart, sure. But why did she have to speak it out loud? It was so embarrassing.

"I...I'm...not...I'm not...laughing." Naminè tried to stop giggling but she just couldn't control herself.

"God, why did I even say that? I never even thought about it before, it just...came out!"

"Kairi, I'm sorry...but...it's just funny. You're a really nice girl, but you always take everything so seriously. And then you come and tell me your dream is to become a singer! That's just odd!" Naminè started laughing again, but stopped shortly after, finally trying to suppress the urge.

"I don't know! I can't remember thinking I wanted to be a singer. My voice isn't even suited for that sort of thing."

"Oh, now you're lying. Your voice is really nice. I can imagine you singing, but it doesn't fit with your...character."

"I guess you want to be an artist?" Kairi tried to change the topic.

"Me? I don't know...I don't remember anything before I came here. No memories of my childhood, nothing. I like to draw, but if to be an artist is really my dream...I don't know. I want to be close to you. That's all that counts for me right now," Naminè answered truthfully.

Kairi blushed and looked away. Even if they now understood each other better than before, and it wasn't as awkward when Naminè told her she liked her, it was still an odd feeling to have her so close and yet keep her so far away. Was that being cruel?

"I'm a horrible person."

"Why do you think so?" Naminè was confused at the sudden topic change.

"I'm here, sitting right next to you, looking at the sun that's slowly going down, so close to you. And yet, I'm keeping you so far away from me. It must hurt, right? You must think it's cruel."

"I don't. I would, if I didn't understand you. But I just have this feeling...I can't explain it...that tells me that you're not a bad person. You're really nice, you just...need time. I think."

Kairi was amazed at that answer and sat there, looking at Naminè with wide eyes. "Maybe I need a push. I did need one back when I was chosen as Keyblader, so maybe I need another to get over myself."

"What do you mean?"

Her heart was beating so fast, Kairi felt slightly dizzy. Should she do it? Maybe it really was a push she needed, and Naminè was so cute and nice. No matter what she said, Kairi felt like a bad person deep inside. Taking a deep breath, Kairi turned around, looked straight into Naminè's eyes, and leaned forward too quickly for the blonde girl to respond.

Soft lips met, and Naminè felt a familiar heat surging up inside her. Laying one hand on Kairi's neck, Naminè responded to the kiss, joining in, tasting the redhead's delicate lips, smelling her scent, and enjoying herself to her fullest.

Kairi felt weird, kissing a girl, kissing Naminè. But it wasn't the same weird feeling she had back on the island when Naminè had kissed her. No pictures of memories, no dark past came up, showing her long forgotten pain. It was pleasant to feel the smooth texture of her lips, to be this close to her. Her heart was still racing, but it was different from before. Not anxiety. Not fear. It was excitement, and Kairi didn't want to break the kiss until she finally had to stop to breathe.

Both didn't dare say a word, astonishedly looking at each other. Neither of them had felt like that before. It was like finally seeing the light of the sun after many years in darkness. After a long and cold tunnel, entering a big flower field in full bloom.

Naminè slowly turned away, touching her own lips with her fingers. It still seemed unreal. Illogical. Mysterious. Kairi had kissed her, completely out of her own free will. And nothing bad had happened. It was a wonderful sensation, and Naminè was blushing deeply. For the first time, she didn't dare to look directly at Kairi.

"Did..." Kairi looked away. Thank God the deep red sun was concealing the color of her face. She was speaking really softly, a completely different voice from her usually serious and composed voice. It was like she was finally herself, after so much time.

"Did... ou like it?"

"Yeah." Naminè wanted to make a clever remark, to say something better. But nothing came to mind. It was like she was unable to think.

"Did you...like it?" Naminè now asked Kairi.

"Yeah. A lot."

"Can...I kiss you again?" Naminè was having problems talking. She had never felt this nervous before, but it wasn't unpleasant at all. It was like a happy nervousness.

"Hm..." Kairi only nodded.

The sun was sending her last rays of light over the rooftops of Hollow Bastion when the two girls' lips met again. In close unison, caressing each other, understanding each other, they shared a moment of such intimacy that they didn't even notice that someone was standing not too far away from them, silently crying to herself.

---Valiant Hearts---

"You look horrible. Did something happen with Kairi?" Yuffie was already in bed. It was pitch-black outside.

"No. Nothing at all."

Olette's voice was moody, and it was clear that she was angry. It was too dark to see her face, but Yuffie was sure that Olette had been crying. She just had a feeling for it.

"Really? You sound like you've been cry—"

"It's nothing, damn it!" Olette suddenly yelled, and turned around.

Yuffie decided not to ask more. She knew when to stop asking. Getting up and staying behind Olette, she hesitated a moment. Was this the right decision? She knew how it would eventually end. She knew what she gotten herself involved in.

Looking at the broken girl in front of her, alone and sad, and with a mental sigh, she ignored her worries. Embracing Olette from behind, Yuffie could now feel that she was shaking and crying. Not saying a word, both of them stood there in the darkness, until Olette had finally calmed down.

Taking her hand, Yuffie pulled Olette into bed, ignoring that she was still wearing all her clothes, that her hair was a mess, that her shirt was wet from tears. She knew exactly how despair felt, how it felt to be all alone in the darkness. And she didn't wish for anyone else to experience that.

Soon, Olette had fallen asleep and Yuffie still hugged her, not letting her go.

"I'm not going to let you go."

And with those final words, the ninja also fell asleep.

The next day came, and when Yuffie woke up, Olette was gone. She heard sounds from the kitchen. Had she gotten up to make breakfast? But Olette had seemed really hurt, and it hurt Yuffie to just look at her. There was definitely something wrong with her.

"What're you doing?" Yuffie walked half-dressed in the living room that included the kitchen.

"Breakfast. Want some?" With a big smile, Olette looked at Yuffie.

Olette was so cheerful it was disgusting. It was false cheerfulness, and Yuffie knew it the moment she looked at her.

"No...no thanks." Yuffie couldn't bear it.

It made Yuffie sick to see this. That wide false smile. That fake cheerfulness.

"No? But it's really good. Here, have some." Olette placed a plate on the table and looked with her false cheerfulness at Yuffie.

Unable to take it anymore, Yuffie walked up to Olette, and before her expression could change to confused, Yuffie forced the brunette into a chair.

"Stop this right now! I know you feel nothing like this! Stop running away from your problems!" Yuffie yelled at her furiously.

"What do you know how I feel!" Olette stood back up and pushed Yuffie back.

"I don't, so tell me!"

Those words had the desired impact. Olette stumbled back and looked at the ground. It was wrong to let it out on Yuffie, who had been caring for her these past three days.

"I like you...I want to be with you...but I can't if you run away from your problems," Yuffie said, getting closer to Olette.

"I...it just hurts so much..."

"It always hurts. I don't want to see you like this, Olette. If you feel like crying, I'm here for you. You don't have to put up an act."

Olette only nodded. She didn't feel like crying anymore, and dropping her cheerful act felt so much better. But how would she deal with it?

"I'm here for you. I will stay by your side as long as you need me."

Yuffie stood in front Olette for a moment before the brunette took her hand. It felt a bit rough, but Yuffie didn't want to take her hand away.

"Can you do me a favor?" Olette was looking really down.

Yuffie nodded.

"I want you to kiss me."

Yuffie could feel her heart jump a little, but it was only for a short moment. She had wanted to kiss Olette ever since the first night they had spent together. She had a cute face, and it had always been a shame that she hadn't gotten to kiss her.

Yuffie was surprisingly pretty embarrassed about it and closed her eyes before she moved in to Olette's face.

More nervous than she had anticipated she would be, Olette closed her eyes too. Seconds later, she felt Yuffie's lips on her own. It was a nice feeling, even though she felt miserable. Like a little fire inside her that was burning her pain and bad thoughts away. It helped to forget what she saw, what she heard.

Yuffie enjoyed it, but not quite as much as she thought she would. It must have been because Olette was hurt. The kiss left a little bit of empty feeling inside, as if she hadn't earned it.

Olette broke the kiss, and looked over at the clock. It was time to leave. She didn't want to see Tifa, to go out, but she wanted to stop acting like a little child.

"My training..."

"I know. I'll wait for you. See you later."

Yuffie wasn't smiling, but she didn't seem sad either. Olette could feel how much Yuffie cared for her, how much she meant to her. It hurt to leave her behind now, it hurt to leave her place. Already out the door, Olette heard her name being called.

"Olette."

Turning around once again, Yuffie had closed in so fast that she almost stumbled over her own chaos on the ground, kissing Olette for a second again.

"I'm here for you." Yuffie smiled at her, her eyes sparkling.

Olette felt a bit better through those words. Nodding, she finally left, leaving Yuffie behind.

Yuffie wandered into the kitchen and looked inside the fridge, only to close it a split second later. Scratching her cheek with a sigh, she looked inside her wallet.

"I knew I was pushing it with feeding two people. Gotta ask Olette later...wait a second."

With a diabolical smirk, Yuffie looked towards the door.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi and Naminè had spent some more time on the roof, kissing two more times, before they went to bed. Both had a hard time sleeping, thinking about what happened. Kairi felt different from before. She had only thought of it that moment, but she had been right.

All she had needed was her own decision to move on. To give herself another push. To jump over her shadow. And it had worked.

Kairi could see Naminè now in a different light, and it was weird how easily she got embarrassed just thinking about now. Had she fallen in love with Naminè?

Late at night, Kairi noticed something different. If she was able to see Naminè like this...what about Olette? Wasn't it horrible of her to completely ignore her in this? Olette had confessed to her too...

"Back to being a horrible person..." Kairi whispered to herself.

But what could she do? Kairi had no idea if Olette even wanted to be with her anymore. Going and kissing her would probably do more harm than good. Telling her what happened would probably just hurt her.

And what about Naminè? One of them would end up hurt anyway. It was only logical to pick Naminè after what happened between them.

"Logical, huh..." Logic was what made her like this, cold and oblivious to other people's feelings. She had finally changed. For the better? Kairi didn't know, but it felt better than before.

"Think outside of logical..." Kairi told herself. "Why does this have to be so complicated? Whatever I do now, someone is gonna be hurt...it isn't fair."

Restless, Kairi turned over once again. How had she managed to push herself this far anyway? Was she just fed up with being an emotional ice block? Or did she, deep down, long to respond to the affection Naminè was showing? Maybe it was both. Taking Naminè's advice, she had done it on impulse, without thinking about the consequences. It had worked, to some extent. She felt different now, like a completely new person. But it had also spawned new problems.

New problems...

With that one thought in mind, Kairi finally fell asleep.

The next morning wasn't her best. With only very few hours of sleep, Kairi's hair was all wild and uncombed, standing in thousand directions. Her eyes were only half-open. She had never felt like this before. Getting only a little sleep on a mission was one thing, since she often used to rely on adrenaline to wake her up, but she was at home right now.

"Did you get hit by one of Cid's machines?" Tifa was curious as to what had caused Kairi to look like that.

"So...sleepy..." Kairi laid her head on the table, cursing her always busy mind.

"And here comes yet another one that looks like she got under a truck."

Kairi turned around and saw Naminè, the hair no less wild and no less sleepy than Kairi, as she walked down the stairs.

"What the hell did you two do that...oh...oh... I see." Tifa was grinning so widely that Kairi could virtually feel it.

She couldn't help but blush and point at Tifa. "Keep me out of your perverted mind!"

"Looking at you two, it's not me who's perverted," Tifa continued to tease.

"Stop it, Tifa. Or should I show them how you look when we get up?" Aerith said, who was standing behind Tifa and holding a plate with breakfast.

"I'll behave." Tifa was quiet all of a sudden.

"Good girl."

Kairi and Naminè somehow finished their breakfast and just wanted to get back to bed, but they weren't allowed to. Kairi was freed from training by Leon, but Naminè wasn't.

"Kairi, uh...do you want to come and watch my training?" Naminè asked.

Tifa was immediately about to make a snippy remark, but she caught Aerith's glare and decided against saying anything. Instead, she sulked in her chair. Sometimes Aerith could be a real party pooper.

Kairi wasn't sure how to react. After yesterday evening, she wasn't sure what to do with Naminè. They had kissed a few times. Did that mean they were going out? Did Naminè think that? But...

"Yeah, I'll come by."

"Good. Then I can check your skills. I guess you've gotten rusty since our last session," Aerith threw in.

With a loud bang, Kairi let her head fall onto the table, sighing loud enough to make it comical.

"Talk about misfortune," Kairi said, causing Naminè to giggle.

"It's not so bad, Kairi. At least you're not alone."

Kairi lifted her head and met Naminè's gaze for a second. They both got slightly embarassed and looked away. Tifa smiled to herself. She was smelling that there was something going on between the two girls.

"I guess even Keybladers have their own 'problems', don't they?" Tifa said. She finished the last piece of her breakfast and left with a hasty "See you later!" before Aerith could punish her.

"Jeez, that Tifa. Don't let it bother you, Kairi. I'm sure she is happy for you too."

Happy? For what? Did something happen? What were they think—

"It's not like that!" Kairi deeply blushed and waved with her hands.

"Oh, it isn't? That's too baaaad." Aerith was smiling widely and Kairi just knew she wasn't taking her seriously.

"It really isn't like that! We just ki—" Kairi closed her mouth before she could finish that line.

"You 'ki'?" Aerith looked at the two girls, who were really embarrassed about it.

"Nothing at all! I'm going to Yuffie's!" Kairi left her dish on the table and left before Aerith could ask anymore embarassing questions. Naminè was left alone, completely at Aerith's mercy.

"So, what did you two do?" Aerith asked with a knowing smile. "Did you kiss? Or..."

Naminè could only guess at what Aerith was implying, but she nodded. "Yeah. We kissed. It's...just that. We kissed. Don't tell Kairi I told you! But I'm not feeling too good about it."

"How come? I thought you liked Kairi a lot." Aerith was confused. What did Naminè mean?

"Yeah I do. I love her. But...I think it would be really mean for me to snatch Kairi away like this when Olette isn't around. I like her a lot and..."

Naminè sighed. It had kept her awake for most of the night. Back in the pirate world she had wanted to be together with Kairi, but only if Olette was with them too. Was that a lie? If she searched her feelings, she found that she really did want to be with Kairi...but it was like it was wrong as long as Olette was away.

"Hm...and I guess Olette likes Kairi too?" Aerith had already figured as much, but hearing this from Naminè was pretty much a confirmation of what she suspected was going on.

Naminè looked a bit panicked, but Aerith smiled as usual. She wouldn't gossip about this. Maybe it would help to tell her about all what happened...

Starting from the point where they had thought Kairi had died, Naminè told Aerith the whole story, up until the point where she and Kairi kissed. It felt so good to finally talk to someone about it that she completely lost track of time.

"So, you want to be with Kairi, but you don't want Olette to drift away from you two. The question is, does Kairi, does Olette want that?" Aerith had mixed feelings about what to tell Naminè.

"Kairi doesn't want Olette to leave either. She is really bothered by what happened. I don't think she wanted things go to this way. I...don't know about Olette right now."

"I think you should talk to Olette and tell her honestly what happened. If Olette is really your friend, then you shouldn't have secrets from her." Aerith looked at the clock. It was already past twelve. What had Kairi been doing for so long?

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi couldn't believe what she saw. Running over to Yuffie's place, she had seen Olette standing in the door from a distance. What amazed her was that suddenly Yuffie jumped Olette, kissing her. It was a shock for Kairi. Had Olette gotten over her this fast?

"I can't believe this..."

Kairi had walked away without talking to Olette. She felt a pain in her heart but couldn't explain it. She had only seen Olette as a friend all this time. Why had it hurt to see her kiss Yuffie? If she was happy with it, shouldn't she, as Olette's friend, be happy for her?

It didn't seem to be that easy. Nothing seemed to be easy for her.

"Why the hell does everything have to be this complicated?!" Kairi yelled, and kicked a stone.

Frustrated with herself and how everything around here had changed, she wanted to escape from all it for a few hours. So she went down to the canyon, as just screaming out loud and letting it all out was the best way to get rid of built-up stress.

"I can't believe her! Being all emotional and not coming home and then getting together with Yuffie—with Yuffie, of all people! Just like that!" Kairi shouted. She summoned Oathkeeper and went berserk on a few rocks.

Breathing heavily a good ten minutes later, Kairi was finally exhausted enough to calm down and think about it rationally and logically.

"I shouldn't assume things. I should just go and talk to Olette...I hope she will talk to me at all. But...what should I say? 'Hi, I saw you and Yuffie kissing, are you dating?' Yeah, sure. That's rude, at best."

Should she just go and say whatever came to mind? Maybe she was overthinking things again and that had led to this situation in the first place. Kairi didn't want to make it any worse than it was.

A good fifteen minutes later, a still-winded Kairi with a summoned Keyblade and wild umcombed hair showed up at Olette's training place.

"What the hell happened to you? Are we under attack?" Tifa asked, and stopped so suddenly that she got a frontal hit from Olette, knocking her over.

"Damn, that hurt!" Tifa moaned, and rubbed her chin.

"Olette, I...need to...talk...you..." Kairi got out in between heavy pants.

Olette didn't respond and avoided looking at Kairi. After yesterday, she didn't even want to see her, much less talk to her. Kairi had betrayed her.

"Look, it's really important." Kairi had calmed down and stared at Olette. Tifa was standing by and looking confused.

"Can you leave? You're interrupting my training." Olette was really cold towards Kairi.

"Okay, you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. I'll do the talking, then."

Olette looked away and pretended to ignore her. What was it that Kairi wanted to say? Brag that she was together with Naminè now? That she didn't want to be with her? That she had chosen Naminè over her?

"Yesterday, I kissed Naminè. And...I think I started to see her as something different than a friend."

Olette knew. She knew all about it. She had overheard all of it. Why the hell did she have to listen to this crap? Getting angry, Olette clenched her fist. If Kairi didn't finish soon...

"But...I don't think I can be with Naminè without feeling guilty about this...not giving you a chance. I don't want you to be left all alone. I like you too, and—" Kairi didn't get to finish.

"Who says I'm alone! I have Yuffie and you know what, I'm tired of your ever-changing mood. One day you reject us, the next you're up the roof happily fooling around with Naminè. Who the hell do you think you are that you can screw with my feelings like this?!" Olette yelled at Kairi, furious.

"I never said anything about the roof...did you watch us?" Kairi was confused and felt a little violated inside.

"I overheard you. I was coming up there because I wanted to be friends with you again. But you know what, screw that." Olette couldn't stop herself. She was crying inside, asking for someone to stop her, to stop her from making it all worse.

"Then why are you so angry? I never said anything to Naminè about being together with her. I thought the whole night about what a horrible person I am that I did this without you around!" Kairi felt like she was being accused of a crime she hadn't committed.

"You are a horrible person! If you're that concerned about me, why didn't you stop? Why did you kiss her again? Why did you two look all happy?"

"Wouldn't you have looked happy too in that situation?!" Kairi was now yelling back, having reached her limit. She knew she wasn't completely in the right, but Olette was going overboard.

"But I am not in this situation! You are! And that's the point, it's always about you!" Olette was about to rush and hit Kairi, but Tifa stood between them.

"Both of you, shut up!"

Tifa could be really loud if she wanted to, and it had the desired effect. Both girls, surprised and intimidated by the sudden outburst, went quiet.

"From what I hear, you're both at fault here. Don't go and blame everything on each other. Kairi, leave now. I won't repeat myself." Tifa was scary when she was this serious, and Kairi didn't dare to object.

"Olette, training is over for today. I want you to think about what you just said. About what you accused Kairi of."

Kairi looked at the ground and left in one direction, Olette in the other.

Who does she think she is? It's obviously she who is wrong!

Both of them shared that thought. And both felt that they had just broken something that could never be repaired. It hurt, both of them, but they didn't want to show it. It was a horrible feeling.

Back at home, Kairi lay on the couch, hating herself and Olette. She had done the wrong thing, but Olette was the one overreacting. She and Naminè weren't dating. They only kissed a few times. She was finally able to deal properly with her feelings, and now? Olette seemed to hate her.

"What's wrong?" Naminè was looking down on her.

"I had a fight with Olette. She saw us, overheard us last evening. She's really furious about it," Kairi said and turned around.

"I know. I met her on my way home. She was waiting for me, wanted to talk to me."

"What did she say?" Kairi was really curious now.

"She wanted to know what was happening to us three, why we are drifting apart."

Kairi grit her teeth. She knew exactly what was happening to them. And it was mostly her fault too.

"I explained to her what happened between us. She wanted me to smack her for being a idiot." Naminè seemed so much different than usual.

"You smacked her?"

"Kairi, Olette is still my friend...I don't want you two to fight."

With that, Naminè left for upstairs. Looking back one last time, the blonde girl said something else.

"I love you."

Kairi was left alone in the living room. Dropping back on the couch, Kairi stared at the celling.

"Why does my life have to be such a mess..."

And with a slight melancholic expression, Kairi closed her eyes.

---Valiant Hearts---

"What happened to your cheek?" Yuffie was shocked that Olette came home with a glaring red hand mark on her right cheek.

"It's nothing."

"Did someone hit you? Are you okay? Was it Kairi?" Yuffie stopped one step short.

"I said it's nothing!" Olette burst out, and knocked over the table with a kick.

Yuffie didn't dare get close to Olette. She seemed really furious, even beyond yesterday. What in the world had happened today?

"I'm going to bed. Good night, Yuffie..." Olette said, sounding very exhausted.

"It's not even dark out...okay. I'll join you later," Yuffie replied, knowing it would be best to leave Olette alone for now.

Crawling into bed, Olette felt horrible. Her cheek still hurt. Naminè had explained everything to her, but what had it changed? She was now with Yuffie and she didn't want to leave her. She liked Yuffie. But how did Yuffie feel about her? Did she like her? Love her? What was she in for?

Thinking about it, Olette slowly fell asleep. She didn't notice when Yuffie went to bed, laying right next to her. Yuffie leaned over and smiled at Olette's sleeping face. The past two days had been pretty dramatic, but she had also gotten a whole lot closer to Olette.

Kissing Olette on the cheek, Yuffie laid down next to her and grabbed her hand, smiling happily.

End of Chapter XVI


	17. Advancing Hearts – Surprise Surprise

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XVII

_Advancing Hearts -_

_Surprise Surprise_

Three weeks had passed since Kairi and Olette had their last fight. There was no need to avoid each other, as they were more than just busy with the new crazy schedules that Leon, Tifa, and Aerith had pulled out of their sleeves. The Committee was less needed than before, and even though Leon remained head of affairs, Tifa and Aerith were looking forward to working in their pub. With picking up work, though, it would become more or less impossible to train the girls, so they tried to get done in time as much as possible.

It was hard, to say the least. In the evenings of their first few days of their new training schedule, all of the girls were so tired that they did nothing but shower, eat, and go to sleep. It was a life in hell, a hell they were required to go through. After those three weeks, they would be on their own. They had to train each other—Naminè in magic, Olette in physical combat. Kairi would still get lessons from Leon, but she was responsible for relaying her knowledge to the other two.

Regardless of their personal affairs, Leon insisted on them working together.

There were no free days, no breaks. Even Tifa and Aerith felt that they were going to their limits, and for once, they had their doubts if they were overdoing it. But thinking back a few weeks, when Kairi and the girls had returned alive only thanks to the king, their doubts vanished.

The Organization was too powerful. Beyond their expectations, far beyond the capabilities of the girls back then. It was hard, but they had little other choice. Kairi knew it, and so did the other two.

Olette was still staying at Yuffie's place and didn't talk to Kairi anymore. It was like she hoped to forget all about it if she ignored it long enough. Kairi and Naminè, despite wanting to develop their relationship further, had to postpone it. They had barely the energy to talk, much less to do something else after the ridiculous exercise they were put through each day.

The last day of training finally came. Naminè was now quite a reliable magician, able to use basic elementals instantaneously along with powerful recitation magic. Olette was way beyond Kairi in terms of raw power. She also had mastered a unique style of fighting, one only she was capable of.

Kairi showed less advancement than the other two. While she was more balanced in her abilities than the others, she was held back by her constant doubts and worries about Olette. She wanted to get away from it, far away.

Half a week passed since the pub opened. Yuffie, true to her word, started working as a waitress for Tifa. Training was put on hold. They were exhausted and tired beyond their imagination. They didn't know where the Organization would show up next, and going randomly to worlds would only cause problems. All they could do was wait.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I feel dead."

Olette was lying face-down on the bed, in just shorts and a long shirt—clothes she had bought with the money Yuffie had given her. It was against her nature to spend money on unnecessary things, but a few sets of clothes really helped out.

"I'm pretty sure Tifa worked you to the bone. Your muscles are as tense as Tifa's relationship with Leon," Yuffie replied.

"Might as well die, then."

"It's been three days already and you're still worn out." Yuffie was knelt over Olette, massaging her back in an attempt to get her to relax a bit.

"It's not really over. I'm supposed to train with the others."

Olette avoided saying Kairi's name on purpose. Things were going well between her and Yuffie and she didn't want to ruin the atmosphere right now. Also, she didn't really want to think about Kairi.

"Do you ever get a break? Poor thing." Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Am I your toy now or something?" Olette moaned when Yuffie got some of the tension in her back to go away.

"No, of course not," Yuffie said in a subtle, sinister tone. "You've always been," she added.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, Yuffie. At least you've stopped groping me like I'm a doll."

"I'd never grope a doll." Yuffie replied. "They're flat."

Olette smelled a opportunity for some payback. "Like _you_ are."

The following second Olette yelped in pain when Yuffie pressed a wrong joint.

"I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!" she moaned.

"Good." Yuffie had a really evil grin on her face.

They continued to chit chat over small things, such as Olette's training, Yuffie's work as a waitress in Tifa's pub, and what they should do for the weekend. They couldn't come to an agreement and decided to put it on hold until it actually was the weekend. It would be their first weekend without responsibility. Yuffie's shifts were being covered by Lilly, a girl who was relatively new in Hollow Bastion. And Olette was free anyway.

"You're so stubborn, it's almost at Leon's level…" Olette complained at dinner.

"You're unreasonable."

"Fine, then you decide. I don't care anymore." Olette started sulking and stood up.

They were eating on the roof, Yuffie's idea. Taking their plates with them away from the usual chaos they lived in, eating on the roof while watching the sunset was really something. When the stars came out, they moved closer together. For Olette ,it was like a scene out of a romance novel.

Yuffie waited until Olette was gone and started to laugh to herself. She had planned this all in secret, in detail, over the past week, and now her plan was finally taking form. Her evil scheme would soon pay off. Slightly spacing out by her thoughts, Yuffie started to drool a bit and some sauce fell on her top.

Olette had grown accustomed to the daily routine of going to bed—that is, avoiding Yuffie's futile gropes and seductive attempts, and sleeping. Olette was pretty sure she was going out with Yuffie, as they kissed pretty often and her resistance to Yuffie's attempts grew thin sometimes.

"Come down already, Yuffie. I want to go to bed. If I have to go alone, you can cook your own food for the next week," Olette called up.

It was amazing that Yuffie could live solely from the instant food she got herself in the market in the business district. Olette was sick of instant food after a week and had somehow gotten herself the burden of cooking from then on. She was terrible at the beginning, but she improved fast.

"I'm coming. You can already undress," Yuffie called back.

"You wish!" Olette said, but she had to grin.

She missed Naminè, but living with Yuffie was pretty nice. She was a real tease, but deep down she was really cute, and attractive too. It amazed Olette that no one had ever tried to hit on Yuffie. If they got past the continuous teasing, she was really nice.

Olette wore just a long shirt to bed. Yuffie had adapted and did the same, even though she had slept naked for some time before Olette started staying at her place. The other day they had spent a lot of time just looking at each other, teasing each other, holding hands while lying in bed. Whenever she thought about it, Olette blushed slightly.

"Are you feeling better after the massage?" Yuffie had just joined Olette in bed.

"Yeah. Thanks a lot."

Yuffie moved closer, trying to kiss Olette, but the brunette held a finger to her lips, stopping her halfway.

"I bet thousand Munny you didn't brush your teeth," Olette said with a knowing smile.

"Tch…" Yuffie got up again and walked to the bathroom in just her shirt.

Olette did it every day, and Yuffie forgot it every day. Olette thought it was sort of gross to kiss someone who didn't brush their teeth on a regular basis.

The ninja didn't know and Olette had no intention of letting her know, since she would definitely switch shirts if she knew. Yuffie had a nice body, even though she was a bit on the poor side with her breasts. Of all the nights Yuffie had made her advances, Olette sometimes played along and had gotten to know Yuffie's body pretty well.

A few minutes later, Yuffie came back to bed with a slightly annoyed expression. She rolled her eyes and moved in closer to Olette. "Can I have my kiss now?"

"Yeah," Olette said, and leaned a bit towards the black-haired girl.

She kissed Yuffie every so often, but it was still weird. She really liked it a lot and it felt good, but sometimes it made her remember the scene on the roof that had caused her to drift away from the others. But she had rarely thought about it during the last week, and Olette hoped that she would be over it soon.

Yuffie wasn't really sure how she felt about Olette. Did she just like her, or was there more? The past three weeks had been hard on her too. Yuffie felt lonely without Olette around. She thought she knew how it felt to love someone, but was this it? Yuffie was reluctant about falling in love with anyone. The last time didn't go so well for her, and it had left its mark. And what did Olette feel?

Did she still long for Kairi? Love her? If not, or even if she did, what were her feelings towards her? Yuffie planned to find out soon.

"So what are we gonna do tomorrow?" Olette was lying sideways, her head resting on her hand.

"A secret. I'll tell you tomorrow." Yuffie smiled and caressed Olette's cheek with her left index finger.

"You're so nice today…you're plotting something, aren't you?" Olette could smell one of Yuffie's schemes two miles against the wind.

"Even if I were, I wouldn't tell you."

"Fine, have it your way."

Olette turned around and pretended to be asleep. Soon after, two tender arms placed themselves around her waist. Yuffie loved to sleep that way and Olette didn't mind. That way, she at least knew where the hands of the thief were. Even though she occasionally slipped up and Yuffie groped her, she really liked this position as well.

The night came and went without any incident. Olette slept exceptionally well that night. She only woke up when she heard the noise of a train. Yuffie must've left the windows open.

"Yuffie…close the window. I can hear the trains, it's annoying…"

It took a moment for Olette to realize that it was her place that was close to the train station, not Yuffie's. Then where was the noise coming from?

Opening her eyes, Olette's mind sort of stopped working. Across from her sat Yuffie, in jean shorts and a black shirt with a white camellia flower on it. The outfit really suited her. It was accompanied by knee-high black boots. She was looking to the side, and this view really made Olette feel weird. Next to Yuffie was a bag.

Olette tried to comprehend for a second. A bag. Train noise. Yuffie in not-so-casual clothes.

Looking right, her brain finally started working. There was a window, and the landscape was moving past her fast. She was _inside_ a train! But when and how and why…?

She looked down at herself. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and a short yellow top, baring her midriff. It wasn't too unusual, but she wasn't too happy about the belly-exposing top. But why in the world was she barefoot?

"Yuffie. Explanation. You have ten seconds before I snap."

"Good morning, Olette." Yuffie only now noticed Olette and looked at her, smiling.

"Eight."

"A trip to the beach. I said it's a secret, didn't I?" Yuffie continued to smile.

"How the hell did you get me here without me waking up?" Olette looked out the window. The sun was high, it must be around noon. The cabin was mostly empty; as far as she could see, they were alone.

"I carried you. You were so relaxed sleeping in my arms, I didn't want to wake you up," Yuffie replied, completely calm.

"I have a thousand questions! Dammit, Yuffie! Where are we headed? What is in this bag? Where did you get the money for the tickets? How long are we going to be gone anyway? And why the hell am I _barefoot_?"

"Milos Rista, swimsuits, saving up, three days 'n two nights, couldn't find your shoes." Yuffie responded with minimal effort.

Olette was about to explode and it was clearly visible.

"Now calm down, Olette. We're going to Milos Rista, a beach resort. We're a bit early for the season but it's warm this year. I put some clothes and our swimsuits in the bag. We're staying at a little house that was for daily rent directly on the beach. And I really couldn't find your shoes, I swear. I couldn't find mine either, so I had to go with boots to the beach!"

"They look nice. You should wear them more often." Olette couldn't tell Yuffie that she had a bit of a boots fetish.

"And why the hell didn't you tell me…wait, did you say _our_ swimsuits? I don't remember bringing one from home and I never bought one!"

Yuffie's expression went from a smile to a devilish smirk to an outright evil grin. So evil, Olette was a bit repelled by it. To make it worse, Yuffie started groping air and stared at Olette. It was really unpleasant, and Olette blushed deeply.

"I bought one for you," Yuffie then said.

"But you don't know my size! What am I gonna do if it won't fit?" Olette wasn't too happy with the thought of being at the beach without being able to go swimming.

"It will. _It will_." Yuffie put such emphasis on the second one that Olette got curious.

"Why are you so…oh dear God…the groping. You groped me to measure my bust size!" Olette pointed at Yuffie.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, really. And you have such nice boobs, I couldn't resist anyway."

Olette went silent for a moment, but then sighed. That was Yuffie, all right. No doubt about it. What kind of swimsuit would she have bought? To begin with, Olette had never gone to the beach before. She could swim, she regularly went to the pool in Twilight Town, but the beach…

"Just enjoy the trip, Olette. I wanted you to get away from Hollow Bastion for a while. To relax and…I wanted to spend some time alone with you," Yuffie said, and for the first time, Olette saw the ninja blush.

Only Yuffie could say such things so bluntly like that, and it made Olette feel special. She forgave Yuffie for the wannabe kidnapping and for the lack of shoes. But she still wasn't sure how she felt about Yuffie groping her all the time and buying a swimsuit for her.

"How long did you say we're going to stay there?" Olette leaned on the seat and looked closer at Yuffie. She looked really, _really_ nice in that getup. What kind of swimsuit would Yuffie wear? A bikini? No, she lacked the bust for that…a sports two-piece? It would conceal her bust size somewhat, and Yuffie in trunks was pretty believable…a one-piece was too lame a choice to be realistic.

"Are you all right? Your nose is bleeding." Yuffie pointed at Olette, who was spacing out.

"What, really? Oh, dammit!" Olette grabbed her nose but there was nothing.

"I bet you were imaging something perverted!" Yuffie was teasing her again.

"And I have every reason to," Olette replied, and now it was Yuffie who was caught by surprise but smiled afterwards.

They went silent again, both staring out the window for several minutes. After a while, Yuffie was lost in her thoughts. She would clear a few things up while on this trip, and if all went well, she and Olette…

Olette had changed places. Instead of sitting across from Yuffie, she was now sitting right next to her, laying one hand on Yuffie's exposed legs, the other on her cheek, kissing her all of a sudden. Caught by surprise, Yuffie opened her eyes wide and looked at Olette, stunned for a second.

"What was that for?" Yuffie asked.

Olette rested her head on Yuffie's shoulder, entangled her fingers with Yuffie's, and and closed her eyes. Really happy to have her next to her, Olette moved as close to Yuffie as she could.

"You're nice, doing all this for me. Your methods are really crazy sometimes, but…I really like you. I like you a lot."

It wasn't a confession, right? Olette was sure it didn't count as one. She didn't know if she really felt like that about Yuffie yet. But the black-haired girl was blushing worse than before, searching for a response that would relieve some of the tension in the air. Something to tease her, anything! But nothing came. In the end, Yuffie decided to go with whatever came to mind.

"I tend to do such things for the girl I have set my eyes on."

Silence. Then, mental self-destruction. Yuffie wanted to jump out the window. A more cheesy and stupid line couldn't have come to mind!

"That's really cheesy, but I like that answer." Olette smiled and stayed like she was, resting her head on Yuffie's shoulder and holding her hand.

"Did you tell anyone where we are?"

Yuffie looked slightly surprised, went all thoughtful for a second, and then she answered with a wide smile, "Nope, didn't!" without feeling any guilt.

"Why am I not surprised? Well, I don't think they're gonna need us around." Olette took a deep breath and pinched Yuffie a little. "You could have told _me,_ at least!"

Yuffie twitched upon being pinched and looked as if she were about to start sulking. "If I had, it wouldn't have been a surprise."

"But I would have shoes."

"You don't need them on the beach!" Yuffie argued.

"Right. And what if we're gonna eat somewhere or if I want to go out? I can't turn up everywhere barefoot!" Olette replied, slightly upset.

"I'm sorry, okay? Now stop being upset about this, I didn't do it on purpose!" Yuffie was starting to get annoyed.

"Have some of your own medicine." Olette grinned and poked her tongue out at Yuffie.

"I'm not gonna talk to you anymore."

"Suit yourself."Olette's grin grew more huge by the second.

They continue to tease and annoy each other for a while until Olette fell back asleep on Yuffie's shoulder, but not without warning Yuffie that she would hit her if Yuffie tried anything funny. The ninja now had a glaring red hand mark on her cheek and was looking out the window, thinking about how lucky she was. A few days all alone with Olette on the beach…

"Wake up, Olette, wake up wake up wake up!" Yuffie was yelling.

Olette opened her eyes halfway, unable to comprehend what was happening. Yuffie dragged her along through the cabin, carrying their bags. The train was still and there was no sound. The engine must be off. That was odd.

"Are we finally there?" Olette asked, still half asleep.

"Eh, yeah, sort of."

That woke Olette up. Sort of? What kind of answer was that? Either they were there or they weren't. What…

"Don't tell me you…" Olette gave Yuffie an ominous glare.

"I'm sorry!" Yuffie begged, and pulled Olette out of the train.

"So where exactly are we?!"

"Let me check…this is…oh…" Yuffie started to feel a bit sick.

Olette put her hand over her face. This just couldn't be true. How careless could someone be? This was topping everything Yuffie had ever done.

About three hours later, two girls, boiling in the heat, were walking down the sidewalk of a rarely used street, alongside a big field. The sun was shining mercilessly down on them. Yuffie had fallen asleep and they had missed their stop. They had no money for tickets, so they had to walk. And it was several hours' walk to Milos Rista from the outskirts of Larftis. Olette hadn't spoken to Yuffie ever since they started walking, and Yuffie had stopped trying after a hour without response.

"Will you be mad for the entire trip now?" Yuffie was seriously angry at herself for screwing up this badly. Also, she hated walking long distances.

Olette didn't respond. She was upset that Yuffie had first kidnapped her onto this trip and then screwed up on getting the right station on top of it. It was punishment for Yuffie that she didn't talk to her. But it was time to break the silence. Ahead of them, right next to the street, was a big tree that was spreading cooling shadow like a godsend.

Olette finally broke her silence. "Let's take a break."

Without further ado they sat down on the tree's huge trunk, Yuffie placing their bags next to her, taking a break. She had welts from the bag she was carrying and it was so hot that they would get sunburned if they had to walk much further.

"I'm sorry for screwing up." Yuffie was sitting a bit apart from Olette, slightly depressed over the continuous silence.

Olette ignored Yuffie and savored the change in temperature. It was like heaven. It was quiet, too, only a little bit of wind through the leaves in the tree's crown and the sound of the cicadas in the air. It was very relaxing, so much so that Olette closed her eyes and leaned back, just enjoying it.

Until something was in front of her, moving around. Something big. Opening one eye halfway, she spotted Yuffie, who was looking at her, smiling.

"Something on my face?" Olette sounded much angrier than she had intended. Yuffie pulled back, unsure if she could just go on and tease Olette a bit, or if she was still upset.

"No, I just enjoyed looking at your peaceful face," Yuffie answered truthfully.

Olette took a deep breath as if to start a argument or a fight, and then flicked Yuffie's forehead. It left a tiny red mark.

"Now we're even." Olette looked back up to the tree above them.

"That hurt!" Yuffie rubbed her forehead and sat down, her back directed to Olette.

"It should. You deserved it."

They went quiet again, both listening to the sounds of summer. In Hollow Bastion, they barely noticed what time of the year it was. In summer it was barely hotter than in spring or fall, and winter was barely colder, let alone cold enough for snow.

Yuffie was startled when she was suddenly pulled from behind by Olette. When she hit the ground, she noticed that Olette had not simply pulled her to the ground but rather to herself. It was a nice position where her head was resting on Olette's lap, and she could look upwards directly in the brunette's face.

Olette played around with some strands of Yuffie's hair until she grew bored of it and started to tease Yuffie a little with letting her index finger move over her cheek repeatedly until Yuffie moved her head away, smiling but slightly annoyed at it.

Yuffie laid her hands under her head, looking up into the boughs of the tree. It was very relaxing to lie like that, and it had been a while since Yuffie, who was usually quite hyper, felt that calm. Olette picked up playing with her hair again, but it didn't bother her anymore.

Time passed and both girls fell asleep after a while. It was just too nice to get up and walk through the boiling heat again. Yuffie especially wasn't eager to get back in the sun.

They woke up when something that sounded like a buzzer disturbed the calmness of their resting place. Olette opened one eye and was startled to see that the bright sun had turned a deep red. It was already evening―at least past seven or eight. On the road, a few meters away from them, was a very old pickup truck, and a guy with a tattooed face and blond spiky hair was waving to them.

"Hey, you need a ride?"

Olette needed a moment to sort out her thoughts. They seemed to be driving in the direction of Milos Rista, and it would help get back the lost time. The guy seemed to be relatively harmless, too. Even though he had his face tattooed, he seemed nice.

A blond woman with glasses leaned over and looked outside the window. Two thick strands of hair framed her face, one on the left and one on the right. The rest of it in a ponytail. She seemed decent too, since she was smiling and waving at them.

"He's harmless, don't worry. We're going to Milos Rista. Need a ride?"

"I did just ask them, Quistis," the guy blurted out, but got himself a 'be quiet' glare.

Olette decided that it was okay to hitch-hike and tried to wake up Yuffie. The ninja didn't quite want to wake up and turned around when Olette pushed her quite violently from her lap onto the ground. It took only so much to wake Yuffie up.

"Hey, that hurt! Whoa, what time is it?" Yuffie looked around and spotted the pickup, then looked to Olette.

"We got lucky and someone's offering to give us a ride. Get our stuff, I'll tell them." Olette stood up. Her legs were a bit sore but she managed. "We're just gonna get our stuff, but we'll come with you!" she shouted.

As Olette walked over to the car, the guy was apparently being scolded by the woman. "Thanks for the ride. We missed our stop on the train and had to walk all the way from Larftis."

"Whoa, that's no joke. It's like, a thousand miles till Milos from there. It's amazing you two got here. It's still hot as hell." He was definitely of the annoying sort, loud and hyper. The exact opposite of the only other blond spiky head Olette knew.

"Yeah, well. Couldn't be helped."

"So what are two girls doing going to Milos?" The woman asked.

"Taking a trip. Tired from…work. Needing a break. Yuffie, the black-haired girl over there, promised me to teach me how to surf." It was all a big fat lie, but Olette couldn't tell them why they really were going there.

"What happened to your shoes? It must've been hell to walk barefoot in the heat." The woman didn't question Olette's explanation of the trip.

"Forgot them on the train. We got off in a hurry and I forgot them. But I'm used to harsh stuff like that, I'm a runner. Thanks again for the ride. We were really in a mess right there."

"No problem. I'm Quistis. This is Zell. We're driving from place to place, looking for our old friends. Do you happen to know them? Their names are Squall, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa."

"I'm Olette. No, I'm sorry, never heard of them." Olette didn't knew any of these names, but Squall did sound like something she had heard in the past. But she couldn't remember where.

"Phew, thanks for the ride. I was seriously worrying we were gonna sleep under the open sky tonight." Yuffie had caught up and was feeling a bit dizzy from the sudden movement.

"I'm Quistis, this is Zell. Get in the back, we can talk through the window since it's missing. This car can't go very fast, so there isn't much wind," Quistis said.

Yuffie got an odd vibe. It was like a command. That woman must've been an instructor somewhere sometime. She followed anyway. Olette managed to jump up just fine and Yuffie threw their stuff up there.

"So you are going to teach her surfing, huh? I wouldn't expect that, one girl to another. You're sure you don't want a nice surf teacher?" Quistis was laughing a bit and Olette blushed.

Yuffie gave her a questioning look but Olette only responded with a 'it couldn't be helped!' look and talked back.

The conversation went nowhere, interesting enough to keep going, and they eventually went silent. Olette kept her distance from Yuffie to avoid any suspicion from the friendly people in the front. It was pretty annoying to Yuffie, but she could somewhat understand that Olette wasn't too eager for other people to find out her preferences.

After roughly an hour by car, they could see the ocean. It was shimmering a dark red from the sun and it was an amazing view. Olette had never seen the ocean before, and it was captivating.

"Never seen the ocean before, have ya?" Zell asked.

"No. It's my first time," Olette answered, lost in the beautiful view of the ocean.

"I bet ya make a nice figure in a biki―ahhhh!" Zell yelled out at the end. Quistis had pinched him in the leg.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit…too honest," Quistis said.

A good half hour later, the car finally stopped and the girls jumped from the back, tired from the long way. It was time they got to their house. The first thing Olette would do in the morning was go and get herself some shoes. Her feet hurt like they had been pricked all over by needles.

"We'll be around for a few days, looking for our friends. Maybe we'll meet you two out at the beach," Quistis said, and waved the two girls goodbye.

"Stop imagining her in a bikini, Yuffie. You'll sleep on the floor if you keep at it," Olette said, and walked away from Yuffie in the direction of the beach.

"I wasn't doing that! Okay, maybe a little, but you gotta admit, she had a nice body." Yuffie followed Olette, pointing in a certain direction. "Our place is that way."

Olette adjusted her course and gave Yuffie a dangerous glare. "So all you see when you look at me is my body? That's nice to know." Olette seemed pretty angry.

"Yes, I totally do. Hot, delicious Olette body," Yuffie said and pretended to drool.

Olette stopped dead in her movements and looked at Yuffie, surprised and shocked. Was she being serious? If so…

No, she wasn't. Yuffie immediately started laughing at Olette's surprised face. She was back to being a tease, but Olette couldn't really be angry about that. It was just who Yuffie was.

"Over there. That's our place." Yuffie pointed at a small house with lower floor veranda on front, not even a hundred feet away from the beach. There were windows in the upper floor. The view from there of the ocean must be just as amazing as earlier when they drove past the coast.

"Like it?" Yuffie stood there, satisfied with her choice.

"No, I hate it. It disgusts me," Olette replied.

"If you're going to try and imitate me, you still have a lot to learn. Sparkling eyes aren't signs of disgust, Olette." Yuffie giggled and walked past her, toward the house. She had gotten the keys already, way back when she had rented it for the time.

The inside wasn't luxurious, but it was decent. A living room with a fireplace and in front a big old couch that gave off a nice smell. The kitchen was right in the living room, and even though there wasn't too much in the fridge, it would suffice for just them. The upper floor was just two empty rooms and the bedroom, which consisted of two beds which they immediately pushed together to combine them into one big bed. Olette had gotten used to sleeping together with Yuffie, and she didn't want to sleep alone now.

"Want to take a dip?" Yuffie placed their bag on the bed and sat down on it.

"Now? Isn't the water cold by now?" Olette was rather tired from this quite eventful day and she wasn't sure about going to swim now. The sun was almost completely down. Only a red shimmer remained.

"The water never cools completely down in the summer. Even at night it's at a decent temperature. Also, if I have to wait any longer to see you in the swimsuit I chose, I'm going to go crazy," Yuffie said, giving Olette a truly lecherous look.

"Pervert. But okay, I really want to go swimming in the ocean. Now get out!" Olette grabbed Yuffie's wrist and pushed her out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

A few seconds later Yuffie hear Olette gasp, mumble some words. Then there were steps, the door opened, Olette threw some clothes at Yuffie with a red face, and slammed the door again. "I'm going to kill you if you peek," Olette said in a warning voice, and proceed to undress.

Yuffie smiled and just undressed down in the living room, throwing her clothes on the couch. Olette took her time and Yuffie grew bored and started building up some wood for a fire in the chimney.

Finally, after good ten minutes, Yuffie heard steps from the wooden stairs. Olette finally came down, wrapped in a towel.

With a annoyed "tch" Yuffie snapped her fingers. "Now don't be a prude!" she complained, and crossed her arms, leaning on the couch.

"You said it would fit, but it's totally tight around the chest!" Olette complained, still quite red in the face.

"It's supposed to be like that," Yuffie replied, and showed again her lecherous look.

"I should've known," Olette said and sighed. Finally looking at Yuffie, she almost dropped her towel. The tight jean shorts were barely over her hips, and to Olette's surprise, Yuffie was wearing a bikini top. A green bikini top with a neck holder. The pants were half open and below it showed a green-black striped bikini bottom piece. The jean shorts gave her a rebellious look, though. Olette grabbed her nose in reflex, anticipating a nosebleed, but nothing happened.

Yuffie was surprisingly well-built, not even close to Tifa or Aerith, but Olette didn't have a much bigger chest at all. It made her wonder why Yuffie was so concerned about her bust size.

"Why are you always complaining about your bust size? It looks fine!" Olette blurted out, confused and curious.

Yuffie looked surprised and averted her eyes. For all the time she had been with Cloud's group, all the attention, even at Costa de Sol, had gone to Tifa and Aerith. "Some reasons. You think it's fine? Really?"

It was so cute to see Yuffie insecure and embarrassed. Olette moved closer, just for a second revealing herself, then wrapped the big towel around both of them. Leaning her own forehead on Yuffie's, Olette smiled.

"Yeah, it looks fine. I don't think yours is any smaller than mine, really."

Olette immediately regretted that choice of words. Yuffie would grab her boobs in a mere seconds, she was sure. It was like an invitation to do so. Ready to get angry and worked up, Olette waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Yuffie didn't even say anything, she only looked at Olette, embarrassed and somewhat happy. She wanted to see below the towel, but she had waited so long, she could wait another few minutes and not destroy this nice situation by acting like a teenager that was craving for sex.

"So, you like your swimsuit?" Yuffie asked rather cautiously.

"I'm a bit mad that it's a bit too tight, but aside from that, it's nice. I like the color, really," Olette answered. Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.

"It stretches, don't worry. I just wanted to tease you a bit."

It felt weird. Yuffie never explained her jokes, her teasing actions. But there was some special atmosphere between them, some sparks. Olette could feel the warmth of Yuffie's body right in front of her, just inches away. Her heart was beating faster with every second until she finally took the towel off and wrapped it around herself, turning around. With a bright red face, Olette walked to the door, opening it and then looking back, over her shoulder.

"Aren't you coming? I'm gonna leave you behind." Olette left straight after saying that and only stopped when she had almost reached the water. It was a nice place to drop the towel, but it was still a bit embarrassing. But why? She had shown herself in bikinis in the Twilight Town pool all the time, and this wasn't even a bikini. Was it because of Yuffie? Was she embarrassed to have Yuffie see her in a swimsuit? That was ridiculous. But…

"Suits you." Yuffie standing a few feet behind her, grinning dirtily and amused by the sudden change in Olette. So she wasn't just a tough girl, she had a soft side too. Walking up to the brunette, Yuffie blew a bit of air on her neck, surprising Olette, and ran towards the water, jumping in.

Standing still in front of the ocean, Olette looked at the night sky. Stars had come out, and now that she had come this far, a few things were becoming more clear. She did want to be with Yuffie.

"_Follow your heart."_

Olette turned around. Someone had whispered in her ear. But no one was there, and Yuffie was plowing through the low waves, having fun while diligently watching Olette. Who had said that?

"Aren't you going to swim?" Yuffie was shouting.

Looking once again behind her, to the sand that showed no sign of anyone else around, Olette dropped her towel and finally let the sea embrace her. It wasn't cold, it was pleasant. Yuffie was swimming like a fish, but Olette had expected as much. After all, she was the one responsible for recon and intelligence from other worlds in the group.

Olette made a few powerful strokes and vanished under the water. The water was crystal clear, she could see the ground even though it was dark. Clams and rocks filled the sand and not much further ahead was a little island with a palm tree. It reminded her of that place. Exhausted from the long day, Olette let herself float on the water.

Floating on her back and watching the stars, Olette didn't notice that Yuffie had followed her and was now right beside her. "You really love the stars, don't you?" she asked.

"I don't know. I feel calm when I look at them. Always did. Maybe it's because I'm a Keyblader, but I'd like to think that because they're beautiful." Looking next to her, Olette saw that Yuffie had joined her. Floating on her back, her gaze toward the stars, Yuffie seemed like a different person.

"Beautiful, huh…" Yuffie sighed and closed her eyes. "I wish I were just half as beautiful as a star." Yuffie complained, took a deep breath and vanished underwater, showing up seconds later in front of Olette.

"I never thought of myself as beautiful," Yuffie said, swimming a few feet ahead. "With Tifa and Aerith around, I never really stood a chance." Turning around, the black-haired girl looked at Olette, who had gone back to a swimming position, slowly coming closer.

"To me you are beautiful." Olette embraced her from behind, slowly laying her arms around her shoulders, resting her head on Yuffie's back.

Yuffie felt different about Olette compared to before. It wasn't like she was just playing around. Olette was serious, and so was she.

The moon was shining down on the two girls, warming each other in a tight embrace, silent and calmly enjoying the moment. Ever so slowly, Yuffie turned around, thoughtful not to break their embrace, till she looked right into the eyes of her partner. The words were on her tongue, but she didn't dare say them. Yuffie just continued looking in those deep green eyes she liked. Seconds stretched to minutes and minutes to an eternity as Olette reached for her cheek, coming closer, just bit for bit, until only a mere instant lay between them.

Olette didn't dare say it either. It didn't feel like the place, the time to say it. Was she hesitating? No. But what else was keeping her from it? Was Yuffie waiting for it? She had been staring forever in her eyes, but had said nothing. Did she mean to say it? Want to say it? If so, why didn't she? Because Yuffie knew she could not respond, not answer to those three magic words? She didn't want this moment to end. Slowly laying a hand on Yuffie's cheek, she moved in closer and closer until she could feel the dampness of her hair, see the tiniest water drops on her face.

"I'm freezing," Olette whispered in Yuffie's ear. The water was taking its toll. Now it was dark, and the last rays of the warming sun had vanished past the horizon.

"We both are. I'll warm you up." Yuffie grinned and moved in the last bit, so that their bodies finally closed in together, sharing their warmth, trying to keep out the cold from the sea.

"Why does that make me worry…" Olette whispered, but didn't move away.

Yuffie was surprised. Usually, Olette would flinch at the first given opportunity. "You're right. Let's get out of the water." Yuffie said, kissing Olette for a second, then breaking away and swimming to the shore.

"Still the same old tease," Olette said, rolling her eyes, and she started to follow her partner. The fresh night air that awaited them when they left the water made them eager to get inside and warm up. Their towels didn't help much since they were still wearing the soaked swimsuits. Yuffie waited at the door, holding it open for Olette.

"Hurry up, you slow thing. I'm turning into an ice block here." Yuffie waved with her hand.

"Don't be so cocky. You had a head start, you cheat." Both were out of breath and freezing cold. Thank God they had ignited a fire before they left for a swim. Yuffie looked through a few drawers for blankets and couldn't find anything but a thin white coverlet.

"Here we go." Yuffie threw the blanket over Olette, who had moved the couch a bit closer to the chimney and was now sitting on it. Wrapping it around herself, Olette noticed that Yuffie had no second blanket. On top of that, the ninja started to undress in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?!" Olette blushed and averted her eyes.

Yuffie laughed and moved to the couch, kneeling before her. "Do _you_ want to undress me?"

It made Olette blush even more. Yuffie already knew the answer and was moving back to finish undressing. It was fun to make the brunette embarrassed, so much that even now, Yuffie could hardly keep herself in check.

"You really have no shame, Yuffie." Olette sighed and covered herself in the blanket. The wet swimsuit was icy and it was giving her goosebumps. She needed to get it off herself and fast. But undressing in front of Yuffie? She'd die of embarrassment before she finished. At least the blanket provided some protection against Yuffie's stare.

"Let me down there," Yuffie demanded, and Olette looked instantly worried and alarmed. Yuffie was standing right in front of her, naked. She didn't want to admit it, but she liked what she saw. The black-haired girl had some nice curves. "Come on, it's cold. Don't be stingy, now!"

Saying that, Yuffie forced her way under the blanket, seconds later laying her arms around Olette. She immediately noticed the ice cold swimsuit.

"You're still wearing that?! You're gonna catch a cold." And with a diabolical expression, Yuffie added, "Let me take that off for you," as she started to pull on Olette's top.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll do it myself. And don't you dare look! I'll kill you on the spot!" Olette responded, angry, embarrassed, blushing furiously.

"Tch, stingy." But Yuffie followed the order and closed her eyes. She soon noticed the blanket was left on her, and that Olette had stood up. Slowly opening one eye, Yuffie instantly looked into two angry green eyes.

"I said no peeking!" Olette hit Yuffie on the head as punishment, but not hard enough to hurt her. Waiting for Yuffie to finally follow her order, she pulled off the wet top, shivered, and hung it on a hook near the chimney. Next was…the bottom.

Looking around and giving Yuffie a closer look, Olette took it off, standing in the middle of the room, the fire showing her naked silhouette on the wall.

Crawling back under the blanket, Yuffie opened her eyes as soon as she noticed the presence of her girlfriend. Olette was still as red as a ripe tomato.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed." Yuffie moved closer, sitting so close to the brunette that they could feel the warmth of each other's bodies. Olette took a deep breath. She was now more nervous than embarrassed, but being with Yuffie had always been kind of reassuring for her, despite her constant teasing.

"You don't mind, right?" Yuffie smiled and proceed to snuggle with Olette. She didn't feel like stopping her, didn't feel like ruining this mood.

"I do."

The short response threw Yuffie completely off track. "You do?…"

Olette sighed, followed by a smile. She did mind, but it was Yuffie after all. "I do, but did you ever let that stop you before?" Ever so subtly, Olette was showing Yuffie she didn't really mind.

The air was warm, and now that the cold clothes were gone, she was slowly warming up. Not to mention that Yuffie was right next to her under the blanket. "We can put the blanket away if you want, I'll warm you with my body." Yuffie was showing her usual evil smirk.

"I'll hold onto it, thanks." Olette put her off and moved a bit closer to the front, to the warming fire. Yuffie took that chance to get behind her, laying her arms around her waist, pushing her chest on Olette's back. She waited for the angry reaction, for Olette to put her off. But nothing came, much to Yuffie's surprise.

Her finger slowly wandered over Olette's stomach up to her chest. She had done this many times before, but she was never as excited as now. Her breathing was going faster with each centimeter she went up, and when Olette didn't react when she reached her chest, Yuffie dared to lay her hands on her breasts, fondling them a bit. Still no reaction.

"You aren't asleep, are you?" Yuffie whispered in the brunette's ear.

First, no response. Then, giggling.

"You really know how to kill the mood, don't you?" Olette said, looking over her shoulder.

"I…just…hum…" Olette had caught her on cold feet. Out of lack of a snappy remark, Yuffie just stuck her tongue at Olette and breathed hot air on her neck. The ninja could feel the following goosebumps as well as Olette could.

A couple of kisses followed the hot air, much to the pleasure of the brunette who was finally giving in to the advances of her partner. Breaking away from Yuffie, who thought she had gone too far, Olette only stood up to turn around, to sit on Yuffie's lap. The blanket still covered them, and they could feel the warmth of their skin under it.

"I'll hit you if you aren't gentle," Olette said, furiously blushing a deep red. Yuffie was taken aback a bit by the bold statement, but was already back on her feet.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best." Yuffie's answer was accompanied by rolling eyes to the other side.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

Without further ado, Yuffie laid her hands yet again on Olette's neck, pulling her closer, exchanging kisses which soon merged into a play of hot tongues. The blanket was long forgotten when it hit the ground, and the only sound was the sizzling of the wood burning and the moans of two shadows, painted on the wall by the warm fire.

---Valiant Hearts---

Rays of sunlight forced Olette to wake up. Her head was a mess, and looking down, she was naked. Not only that, but right next to her was Yuffie. They weren't in their bed, but on the couch.

The last night came slowly back to her and Olette slightly blushed when looking at Yuffie. With a moan, Yuffie moved, and the thin blanket that covered her fell down.

Averting her eyes, Olette took the blanket up and wrapped it around herself, looked left and right, then made a dash to their room to put on some clothes. As she took some of Yuffie's clothes back down, Olette finally thought about the last night.

She had slept with Yuffie. Memories made her blush again, but it had been really nice. But something gave her a weird feeling. It was like she had stepped over an invisible line…but she had no regrets other than not being able to remember much of her first time.

"You're no fun, running as soon as you get up. I wanted to cuddle some more." Yuffie looked over the back of the couch and smiled widely. "Aw, last night was awesome. Or rather, you were. Where did you learn to do that with your tong―"

Olette threw the clothes at Yuffie who was thrown off. "Get dressed, jeez."

With things as they were, Yuffie tried to make breakfast but almost set the kitchen on fire, resulting in Olette making some scrambled eggs and bread. "You should learn to cook. It's a pain to always do it." Olette complained while sitting on the table and taking a big bite of the fresh bread.

"I'm just not suited to that kind of work. But I don't know what I would do without you. I can't imagine going back to eating fast food every day now. I'd starve to death, so you better never leave me alone for too long." Yuffie was partially talking with full mouth and Olette rolled her eyes watching her.

"You have absolutely no manners, do you know that?"

"I do. Didn't know you were picky about that sort of stuff." Yuffie gulped down a glass of juice, leaned back and burped, much to the displeasure of Olette.

"It wouldn't kill you to show some manners. At least when you eat with me. Or you can eat alone in the future. And cook your own meals." Olette had found a weak spot and she would exploit that one freely as long as she could.

"That's blackmailing! But if you want, I can try. Don't expect too much, though." Yuffie sulked in her chair and looked towards the window. "It's nice out there. Let's go for a stroll." She had to change the topic somehow.

"Nice dodge. But okay. You wash the…I take that back, I'll wash the dishes. I don't want them to break. I want to see the area. I like swimming, but we just ate and I don't wanna get a cramp and drown." Olette took Yuffie's plate and with a sigh, put them into the kitchen sink and starting cleaning them.

"We can go see the market. It's the weekend, therefore there'll be one hell of a crowd. You'll have to look out for thieves." Yuffie leaned back in her chair and watched her girlfriend wash the dishes. Unlike Olette, she had the previous night well-burned into her memory and started to grin while looking at her back. She hadn't been that happy in a long time. Maybe she could get Olette to try some exotic clothes at the market.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I'm not gonna wear this. It's basically see-through." Olette complained and put a piece of cloth that was supposed to be a dress back onto the stall. Completely ignoring Yuffie, she walked away and looked at another stall that sold necklaces and rings. One particular ring got her attention and she tried it on. It fit perfectly, like it was made for her. A black ring with two white dolphins on it. Reading the price tag, Olette smiled. Fifty Munny wasn't that much.

"You like that one?" Yuffie caught up and was looking at the ring. Yuffie took another one, one of the same kind but with a different animal on it and put it on. A crow. "Now that fits." Giggling and deciding to keep her ring, she paid the old man that owned the stall the fifty Munny and turned around. Yuffie grabbed her wrist and held her back for a moment.

"Can you lend me fifty Gil?" Yuffie asked and looked a bit embarrassed. She had blown all her money on the trip, so she was pretty much broke.

"Fifty what?" Olette knew that Yuffie was asking for fifty Munny, but what in the world were Gil?

"Gil is just what we used to call Munny. I don't remember why we stopped calling it Gil, though." Yuffie shrugged and looked with an asking gaze at Olette.

"Fine. You paid for all of this, after all." Handing over the money, Yuffie paid the stall owner who showed a wide smile.

The afternoon was one big shopping event. Olette purchased a big straw hat and wanted to get a few other things, but they ran out of money after eating some ice cream and having a traveling painter paint a portrait of them together. When they finally got back to their house, it was already dusk and the moon was visible, floating far above them.

Yuffie stopped on the little balcony that was right on ground level and held Olette back, pulling her towards the big wooden swing that was right next to the wall. Yuffie's intent was very clear and Olette pulled away. The weird feeling from that morning was still there. It wasn't a bad feeling, it just didn't want to go away. It wasn't like she didn't want to sleep with Yuffie at all…it was more a feeling that she didn't want to do it right _now_.

"Did I do something wrong?" Yuffie couldn't think of any other way to ask in the spur of the moment.

"No. I just have this weird feeling…I don't want to…" Olette blushed a bit and turned around, still shy about it, "… sleep with you when I don't know what it is. I just can't get in the mood, I'm sorry."

Olette sighed and knew how hard that must sound. But she didn't want to lie to Yuffie about this. That would only make it worse if she found out somehow.

Olette didn't hear an answer for some time and was afraid of turning around, in case Yuffie was really angry now. But when the black-haired girl laid both arms around her waist, she knew that wasn't the case. "I'm not forcing you to. But you still have to sleep in the same bed I do. No buts."

Yuffie was smiling, but Olette couldn't see it. It hurt a bit that Olette was pulling away like this. But at least she was being honest with her. Yuffie couldn't tell if she would've done the same. Probably not, in fear of losing Olette.

"No groping," Olette said, happy that Yuffie wasn't angry. Happiness turned into anger after the hands of the ninja moved up quite a bit, doing exactly what Olette had just prohibited Yuffie from doing.

"I'll let it pass. Only this one time. If you do it again, I'm going to kick you out of bed," Olette said, looking over her shoulder into the black eyes of her girlfriend and kissing her softly. Yuffie took her hands back and sighed. They hadn't gone swimming all day and it didn't look like they were going now, either. They would leave tomorrow evening, so she had to get Olette to go swimming the next morning.

"Can we eat dinner before we go to sleep? I'm starving. We have so much leftover food in the fridge, we won't be able to eat all that till tomorrow evening. What a waste," Yuffie complained, and let go of Olette, leaning on the house wall, looking to the dark ocean.

"I ruined the mood. I'll make something special as an apology. Don't expect too much, and don't dare expect me to make it often. It's a lot of work!" Olette said, and gave Yuffie a warning glare. If she didn't appreciate this, Olette would punish her.

"I'm already looking forward to it. You've gotten a lot better of the past month, really. I like your food a lot," Yuffie said and smiled. "I'll wait outside. It's nice and warm and I don't want to spoil myself for what you're cooking."

With a shrug, Olette went inside and started preparing immediately. It wasn't all that special, really, but it really was a lot of work. She had once asked Fun to teach her how to do it and she had practiced a lot until she was finally able to make it taste good. You took several ingredients and cut them into pieces, then some meat that was cooked simply. No steak or thick meat. All of that went into a big pot. There was luckily one of these in the house, but it was probably usually used for something else.

The cutting and slicing took some time, and when Olette was about to put everything in the pot, she caught Yuffie looking through the window. When she sent a grim glare towards the window, Yuffie vanished instantly.

"Not spoiling herself, my ass. She can't even wait an hour." Olette sighed and continued on.

The hotpot, as it was called, was almost done when Yuffie burst in with growling stomach. "Isn't it done yet? I'm going to starve to death at this rate!"

"We can eat outside. You eat this stuff right out of the pot, and we need to cook it over a fire, too. The oven here is too small, so we're gonna have to make a fire. You go and make one, I'll get us some forks… unless you want to eat with your fingers. I'd dare you to do that, though." Olette carried the heavy pot over to the table and put it down.

Minutes later, after Yuffie had probably broken every record for making a fire, they put the pot on top of a ring of rocks with the fire below. It was usually mainly vegetables in a hotpot, but neither of them was a big fan of those, so Olette had put in mainly meat.

"Where did you learn to make this?" Yuffie pressed out between chewing big slices of meat. "Who taught you? This stuff is really good. And it's nice to eat like this too." Yuffie smiled and looked towards the sky. The moon was shining down on them and if not for her poor manners, it would've been a really romantic atmosphere.

"If you weren't such a barbarian, this would be really romantic," Olette complained, sighing.

"I'm sorry for just being myself." Yuffie started to pout and stuck her tongue at Olette.

"You two really make an odd couple. How did the surfing go?" The blond woman named Quistis was approaching them from Yuffie's side. A bit behind her was the guy that had driven the car, Zell.

"Not too bad. We lost a lot of time, though. We're going back tomorrow evening." Olette said, and moved closer to Yuffie, making space for the two guests. She didn't mind since they had helped them a lot. And there was enough food anyway.

"How did your search go?" Olette asked. Yuffie looked a bit curious. She must've missed that the first time they had met.

"Nothing. We're not even sure they are in this world. They could be anywhere. Even…well…" Quistis' face became a little bit depressed. Olette knew what she meant. They could be dead. But Olette didn't hope so. They were nice people and she hoped for them to find their friends soon.

"I'm sure they're alive and kicking. Can't imagine them dead. Not him. He was already dead once and he came back," Zell said, and sat down across from Yuffie.

Quistis sat down next to him and gave him a slap on the back of his head. "Don't bother them with those stories."

Olette giggled and Yuffie looked a bit confused, but decided to not ask questions. If Olette didn't want them to know that they were lovers on a trip, then she wouldn't talk unnecessarily and blow their cover.

"Where are you going next?" Olette asked, and started questioning herself how they would even get to other worlds without a Keyblade.

"Mountain region to the south, Flutzorn Mountains. From there on…I don't know, but probably the forests of D'uhnas," Quistis explained, and pointed each time in the respective direction.

"That's a long way. I hope you find them soon. If you want, you can eat with us. We have too much to eat all of it alone."

Zell immediately jumped up and shouted "Yeah!" only to get hit by Quistis.

"Well, if you have enough, I think we can eat with you, just a little bit." Quistis apparently was a very polite person who didn't want to be a burden to someone else.

"We'll go to bed. I want to get up early tomorrow. Yuffie, come on, stop stuffing yourself. You're gonna get fat," Olette said, stood up and left. Zell and Quistis were left behind.

"They're nice girls, lettin' us eat this stuff, right, Quisty?" Zell proceeded to continue where Yuffie left off and munched away.

Quistis smiled and looked at the ground. The way they had looked at each other had been suspicious from the start. Not to mention the fact that they didn't wear surfer clothes or have any surfboards with them. Quistis smiled again. Those two were a couple, no mistaking it. Helping herself to some of the food, she kept quiet. It wouldn't help to tell Zell.

---Valiant Hearts---

The next day wasn't anything special. They had breakfast as usual, and they went for a swim afterwards. The evening came much too quickly, most likely due to the fact that they had slept until noon. The train was already waiting when they arrived at the station.

"If we miss our stop this time I'm going to―" Olette couldn't finish. The train made a loud noise and the announcement that it would leave any second was made. Yuffie pulled the bag and Olette with her and made it barely in time. The door closed right behind them.

"We made it. Phew." Yuffie took a deep breath and started to look for their places. They had to go through four cabins until they found them. Sitting down, they watched the sunset from the window.

"Thanks," Olette said after some time. They had spent their time looking out of the window, enjoying the scenery.

"What for? And what brought this on?" Yuffie was confused.

"You took me in. Helped me out. Were there for me. You took me with you on this trip…and…well…I'm really happy things are working out this nicely between us." Olette smiled, unable to look in Yuffie's face.

"You're really an idiot, aren't you? You were there for me as well, and I'm happy that we're going out too," Yuffie said, embarrassed. "But…you're welcome. Look, the sun is setting…"

Yuffie was no good with these things and wanted to change the topic. It was really obvious that she was tired, and this time Yuffie leaned onto Olette, resting her head on her shoulder.

It was a beautiful view. The sun was slowly descending into the shadows beneath the horizon, setting the sky ablaze with red light. It was a marvelous sight, like an eternal fire was consuming the world.

They would soon encounter a fire that was much different from the sunset.

End of Chapter XVII


	18. Beyond Friends – Us

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XVIII

_Beyond Friends -_

_Us_

"What are you reading, Naminè?"

Kairi looked down, listening to the rustling of the leaves of the majestic tree whose crown she was abusing as place to relax. A few feet below sat Naminè, deep in thought, engrossed in another novel. Ever since Aerith had showed her the library and allowed her to borrow just about any book in there, Naminè had been busy reading every free minute. And there was plenty of time right now.

Training was finally over, for now at least, and while Olette was gone, as they found out just earlier this morning, training between themselves was suspended. It was to Kairi's liking, as she wanted to spend more time with Naminè. They had gotten closer, but Kairi was still insecure about confronting her feelings, and much less sure about accepting Naminè's feelings like this.

"_The Silver King_," the blond girl replied with her gentle voice. She was very much aware of Kairi sitting up there, staring down at her, but she wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. The sun was shining brightly, and even though she sat in the shadow of this big tree, it wasn't cold. A slight wind was playing with her hair, showing Kairi an amazing sight.

"What's it about?" Kairi was interested in getting to know Naminè better. But no matter how good she was at fighting or tactics, she was a complete klutz when it came to such things. Earlier today, she had walked in on Naminè showering, and even though the book-loving girl didn't mind at all, Kairi still scolded herself for just standing there, her mouth wide open, staring at the naked body of the other girl. She was cursed with such bad luck.

"It's complicated. Want to hear about it?" Naminè finally let go of the book, looked up, and gave Kairi a true angel-like smile. Wearing her white favorite dress, the only thing missing were white wings and the halo. For Kairi, though, she didn't need those things at all. Nodding as answer to her question, Kairi slowly climbed down, finally sitting down a few feet away from Naminè.

"I don't bite." And saying so, Naminè stood up, walked over to Kairi and placed herself right on her lap, leaning back right onto Kairi's chest. It was sort of an intimate situation and yet not. Kairi knew that Naminè was more pure than she seemed and had no subtle thoughts on such things. She simply wanted to be near her.

"I'll tell you the story. I already finished it," Naminè offered to the redhead, looking over her shoulder, smiling her usual smile. It was so easy for her to draw Kairi in, it was almost like a spell. Whenever Kairi showed reluctance, Naminè looked at her with her bright blue eyes, smiling like this, and instantly melted away any shyness.

"Remember that we haven't all day. I wanted to go and look for some music in the shopping district," Kairi reminded her girlfriend and sighed.

In the end, they would have to run, for sure. Naminè was never a girl of few words when it came to the stories she was reading. Especially the ones from Lunaria Charon, an author Naminè seemed to favor over anything else. And this was one of these works. Kairi could read her name on the cover.

"Don't worry. It's not very long," Naminè reassured the girl right behind her.

"You really like the stories of that woman, don't you?" Kairi had never heard of her before. She didn't read all that much, mostly works Leon gave to her, and those were strategic lessons in a sense. The only books outside of that were the works of Edward Rein Neel, who had lived over a hundred years ago apparently. Many of his stories described faraway places, still undiscovered by anyone but him. Kairi favored his work because it was always thrilling to hear and read of places where nobody had ever been before.

"Yeah. Too bad that I could only find a few books from her." With a slightly depressed expression, Naminè sighed for a second and then was back to happy again. "Now for the story."

Kairi leaned back, taking Naminè with her. As she lay down in the grass and listened to Naminè telling the story of the Silver King, she felt at peace. It was extremely rare for her to just forget all her worries for even a second, but be it just Naminè or all of this together, scenery, atmosphere and Naminè, it didn't matter. She felt at peace, a first in a long long time.

"There was once a man who was very poor. He lived in a kingdom where the king was a tyrant, seizing women, money, and livestock wherever he could, exploiting his people. He was a terrible king and many man wished for him to die.

"One day, the poor man found a golden piece, something very valuable, on the ground. There was no one around. With that piece, he would be able to buy back his house, his wife, maybe even a chicken or a cow. But his consciousness dared him to find the person who lost the golden coin.

"Being a honest man, he looked and looked but couldn't find anyone that was searching for the golden coin. After three days and three nights, he was very hungry and weak. He finally meet another man, who had grown very thin over the years, who looked at him in desperation. 'Have you seen a golden coin? If so please, give it to me! It is all I have, it is my treasure, the last thing that reminds me of my daughter and my dead wife,' he pledged to him.

"He was hungry, and not too far was an inn where he could eat and sleep to his fill. But once again, he was a honest man, and gave the poor old man his coin. The old man was so happy that he broke out in tears and thanked the man on his knees. He soon left and the man was alone yet again, hungry and without home or wife.

"He had given away his own happiness for another, and seeing that good deed, a fairy appeared before him. 'Your heart is pure and kind, I shall award you with one wish,' the fairy said. The man pondered and thought about it for a long time. 'I wish for the current ruler to die,' he said, and the fairy looked disappointed at him and said, 'That I cannot do. We fairies cannot take the life of a man,' she explained.

"The man begged on his knees. The land was bleeding under his rule, he told her, but she still refused. 'Is there no way to free the land of this tyrant, this evil?' the man asked. The fairy thought about it and came up with an idea, having pity for the poor people and the honest man. 'This is a magical coin,' she said, and handed the man a coin of silver. 'Only those who are pure of heart can hold it. Those with evil in their heart shall become what they like the most,' she said. 'Give it to the king.'

"The fairy vanished and the man was left with a single silver coin. It was a wonderful work of art, and it was shiny and blinking even in the night. The man soon came before the king, seeking an audience. 'My lord, I have brought a gift for you,' he told the king. 'It is this coin of pure silver, worked by the fairies.' He held out his hand, and as a guard was about to take it, he closed his fist. 'Only the king is great enough a person to touch this coin. All that are not of supreme greatness shall turn to stone upon touching it.'

"The king was flattered, and his arrogance made him stand up and walk to the man, attempting to grab the coin. The moment the coin was touched, the king knew that this man wanted to kill him. But it was too late for the king. The King's hand slowly turned to silver, the magical coin turning the king himself into silver. The honest man was struck dead by the guards upon command of the angry king, but the king too, soon, stopped breathing. His greed and his evil character had taken its toll. And so he became famous as the silver king, whose reign of terror was ended by just a single man's honesty."

Kairi had long fallen asleep. Naminè had said she would not make it many words, but halfway through the story, Kairi had fallen asleep. Lying in the green grass, Naminè right next to her happily telling her the story of the silver king, Kairi was in a state of real happiness.

"You're a terrible audience, Kairi." Naminè turned around, closely watching the sleeping girl. Leaning over her, strands of hair started to touch and tickle Kairi's face, slowly waking her up. Naminè had planned to give her a kiss, but the redhead was moving around too much, trying to escape the playful teasing of the girl above her.

"Oh jeez, stop it, I'm awake already…" Kairi finally gave in and moaned, slightly annoyed.

"That's what you get for falling asleep on me." Naminè put her hands on Kairi's shoulders, pushing her back on the ground, on to the soft grass. Kneeling above Kairi, Naminè started to tickle her girlfriend, until her laughter was heard even on the foot of the small hill they were on.

"Stop it, stop it." Kairi was trying to escape, but it was impossible. She could barely talk, let alone try to free herself, even though she had the obvious advantage in strength. Wheezing for air, holding her sides, Kairi was finally let off the hook.

"I thought you'd kill me," Kairi complained, and flipped her middle finger on Naminè's forehead. "Is this how you treat the girl you like?"

And with a giggling sound, rubbing the exact spot Kairi had hit, Naminè answered with a simple, "Yeah. She deserves it."

Things were going smoothly between the two. They grew closer each day, each hour they spent together. It was nice to have nothing to think about except what to do next, how to enjoy the day. It was a beautiful feeling to harbor, and Kairi was thankful that the wall that had confined her feelings was finally gone.

"I'll go and get a new book. Want to come with me?" Naminè asked and stood up.

"Yeah. I'll start to rust if I sit around too much." Kairi stood up and walked to where the blond girl was waiting for her. It always amazed Kairi how different they were. Naminé was always cheerful, positive, nice. Never reluctant to say what was on her mind. She was so different from Kairi, yet, they complimented each other so nicely.

First walking together, simply side by side, they made their way to the castle. Halfway, Naminè pulled closer, took Kairi's hand, and waited for a response. It was still a bit difficult. Sometimes, Kairi pulled away, the contact being too much, sometimes it was just fine. Naminè took another step, let go of the hand and took her arm. It was a bit awkward to walk like that, since they were both about the same size, but Kairi didn't mind.

"We're never gonna make it to the library like this," Kairi complained.

Naminè didn't answer but kept clinging to Kairi. If she had to choose between doing something else and being with Kairi, then she would always pick Kairi, no matter what. And it wasn't that bad. They were slower than normal, but Naminè really enjoyed walking like this.

"While we're here, want to go to that place?" Naminè asked casually while they were making their way through the entrance hall of the castle.

"I'd rather go back to the tree. It'll be time for dinner soon and by the time we get up there we'll have to come down right away. But we can go tomorrow if you want to." Kairi turned her down and offered compensation to make it up to her.

Naminè nodded, satisfied with this turn of events, and they finally made it to the library. It was already late; the sun was setting, and if they didn't hurry, they would be late for dinner. Tifa, that glutton, would leave nothing for them.

"Pick one fast, please. I don't want Tifa to eat my and your dinner as well. And that's gonna happen if we get back late."

The thought first seemed a bit funny to Naminè, but the idea of eating bread for dinner wasn't that funny on second thought. She vanished upstairs, while Kairi waited at the door. A few minutes later, Naminè came back, holding a ridiculously big, dusty book.

"Where in the world did you get that? It looks ancient. At best." Kairi added, "But tell me that later, we've gotta run." Taking her hand, Kairi started to run, pulling Naminè with her. They had less than ten minutes to get back before Tifa would savage their food. Aerith would scold them as well for coming back late. Those two had been a bit on edge lately, what with the new pub having problems on every corner, and Kairi didn't want to make it any worse.

Wheezing and out of breath, they made it barely in time. Aerith was still cooking and Tifa was lying on the couch, listening to some of her music on her headphones.

"Go and wash your hands…and faces. Kairi, you have lip gloss on your cheek." Aerith grinned and turned around, her attention on the food.

Kairi blushed and started to rub her cheek, slightly embarrassed. It was no mystery, at least not to Tifa and Aerith, that Kairi and Naminè were going out. Looking at Naminè's puzzled face, she looked at her lips. Naminè wasn't wearing any makeup, never did.

"You're a terrible tease, Aerith," Kairi moaned, and vanished upstairs to change. Naminè's dress was mostly clean so she didn't need to change and instead washed her hands in the kitchen.

"You shouldn't do that to her. She's really easy to embarrass." Naminé said, but she couldn't help but giggle when she thought of how funny Kairi looked when she was embarrassed.

"She knows I'm just doing it to tease her. I'm happy that she finally opened up this much. Can you hand me the potatoes?" Naminè reached out and handed over the pot with the potatoes. Aerith was making stew.

Kairi came down when Naminè was still chatting with Aerith, so she picked up a book she was supposed to read. It was one of the many works Leon had made her read and this one was especially difficult because it was so old. _Of Battle and War_ was a book written by a Keyblader from long-forgotten times. Only the initials on the cover were readable, and they said E.L., which could mean about anything. She hadn't even finished the first part of it—she just didn't feel like wasting her time on this book when she could be spending the same time with Naminè.

"Kairi? Can you call—I mean, get Tifa? I have my hands full here," Aerith asked and proceeded to carry the large pot with stew over to the table. Naminè was helping with the dishes. Kairi closed her book. She had just started on a chapter that handled battles against enemies one could not beat with raw force. It said that often, tricking the enemy was much easier than taking it down by force. Of course Kairi knew that, but this book was going really in depth with it.

Walking over to the couch, Kairi pulled Tifa's headphones from her head and immediately jumped back. Tifa was known for her sudden reactions when something unexpected happened right next to her. With her eyes closed, she hadn't seen or heard Kairi coming, and if not for Kairi's experience, she would've been hit by Tifa's fist.

"Dinner is ready," Kairi said, and walked back to the table, throwing the headphones to Tifa.

"I'm coming right away," the black-haired woman said. She was exhausted. The pub demanded more of her time than she had thought. But it was no wonder. Hollow Bastion wasn't as small and poor as the slums in sector seven. Thank God she had Aerith by her side to help her out.

Aerith was chattering with Naminè, and Tifa was talking about work, how bothersome some customers were and whatnot. Kairi listened to both, one at a time, not too interested in what Tifa was talking about, and not understanding some of what Aerith was talking about with Naminè. Something about higher magic, nothing to do with her. Finishing her food, Kairi picked up the book she was reading. It was Naminè's turn to help out in the kitchen today, and she really had to finish this piece sometime soon. Leon had given it to her over two weeks ago.

"What are you reading?" Naminè had been released from the kitchen and was standing right behind Kairi, who was still sitting at the table. She leaned forward, laying her arms around Kairi's shoulders, looking at the book.

Putting a finger on the line she was on, looking to the side, Kairi answered faithfully, "A book Leon gave me. It's giving me a headache." She sighed and closed the book. Page eighty-seven. Still over two hundred to go.

"Want to go to my room?" Kairi asked, thoughtful not to let Tifa hear it. She would make fun of her.

With a happy smile, Naminè nodded and let go of her girlfriend, going upstairs. Kairi waited a moment, then walked past Aerith, following Naminè.

"Keep the blanket clean!" Tifa shouted, and Kairi immediately blushed until she was as red as a tomato.

"That's none of your business!" Kairi shouted back and vanished upstairs.

"What did Tifa mean?" Naminè asked when Kairi entered her own room.

Unable to answer that, she just waved her hand and said, "Nothing, it's nothing, forget it…" a few times, choking on embarrassment. Always that Tifa! Kairi hadn't spent a single thought on…that.

"Come on, tell me," Naminè nagged, and sat down on Kairi's bed.

"Some other time." Kairi turned her down and made clear that she would not tell, no matter how much Naminé asked.

"Fine then. Stingy." Naminè made a sulking expression, swinging her legs on the bed back and forth, slightly annoyed that Kairi was holding back. It was probably something embarrassing, so she didn't want to talk about it, and Naminè dropped the issue.

Kairi picked up a water bottle she always kept in her room, and took a large gulp. "Can I sleep here tonight?" Naminè blurted out, making Kairi almost spit the water out as she choked on it. In the midst of coughing, Kairi managed to calm down.

"What did you say?" Kairi wasn't sure she hadn't misheard.

"I want to sleep in the same bed as you. Olette is gone, and it's lonely to sleep in that room alone." Naminè had a point. When the training was still going on, they were too tired to even notice that it was lonely at times, but now that they had time, it was different. Kairi was in a pinch. How would she handle that? Sleeping in the same bed as Naminè seemed a bit over the top for now. Turning her down would seem a bit cold and distant.

"Okay, but…no sneaking up on me at night." Kairi sighed. Hopefully Naminè would keep to that rule.

"Should I tell Aerith?" Naminè already knew the answer to that one but it was always fun seeing Kairi get flustered.

"No, don't. Just come over the roof. I'll leave the window open." Aerith was still pretty strict when it came to such things. Kairi didn't knew why, but it was better not to anger her.

"I'll go take a shower. If you peek, you can sleep in your own room!" Kairi warned the girl that was already making herself comfortable on her bed. "Absolutely no searching my drawers either. I'm warning you." Kairi sighed and left her room, leaving Naminè alone.

"Stingy." Naminè stuck her tongue out at the closed door and turned around, lying on her stomach, face buried in Kairi's pillow. "Mm, Kairi's scent…"

The hot water flowed down from her body, taking the bit of fatigue she had carried over from last week with it. Even hotter than the water was her face. Sleeping in the same bed as quite the jump ahead. Well, as long Naminè didn't do anything outrageous it would be all fine.

Still, Kairi was excited and nervous. How should she act? Just be herself? She hadn't exchanged as much as a kiss ever since their training had started, but now that was done and dealt with. Now that she thought about it, was Naminè maybe thinking she was being cold for not even trying to kiss her today? Or did she not mind at all? The thoughts of that girl were sometimes just a big mystery to Kairi. Taking some shampoo, Kairi rubbed her legs together. With a sigh, she picked up the razor.

Naminè was still on the bed, just as she was when Kairi left. The thought of sleeping in the same bed as Kairi was exciting, but she really had to watch out not to do something stupid. Kairi was still sensitive to such things, and if she went too far, it could ruin everything. Maybe just sharing the same blanket, sharing the same space to sleep was enough for today. After all, that was much more than she had ever had of Kairi. If Kairi tried to kiss her, Naminè wouldn't hesitate to respond.

She was a little worried about Olette and how she was doing, but if she was with Yuffie, she was probably fine. Except that Yuffie was a horrible tease, though. But Olette probably had learned to deal with that by now.

Moving up, Naminè noticed that she had drooled on Kairi's pillow. "Oops…I better not tell her." Turning the pillow around, Naminè would pretend she knew nothing about it. But Kairi smelled really nice. If she had to describe it, she would say it resembled ripe strawberries.

Kairi was still in the shower. What was taking her so long? Looking around, Naminè remembered her warning. No looking through her drawers. On the table next to the bed was the Keychain for Oathkeeper. It was a star, or something that closely resembled one. There was a little case next to it. It looked like a jewel case. But Kairi never wore any jewelry. What was in it?

Walking to the door, checking that the water in the bathroom was still running, Naminè went back in Kairi's room and opened the little case.

In it was another Keychain. A black crown. Naminè had never seen that one before. Kairi never used it. But it seemed precious to her—why else would she keep it like this?

Naminè took out her own Keychain for Monochrome, a silver boat's wheel, and looked at it. Naminè didn't know where Kairi got it form, but it fit her nicely. It was probably better Naminè didn't ask about this. If she hid it away like this, it was better she didn't tell her she found it. Falling back on the bed, Naminè was bored. The Keychain in that little case still occupied her thoughts. Should she try to use it? Better not. Who knew what would happen.

"Already asleep?" Kairi walked in, a towel over her head, still drying her damp hair. She looked down at Naminè, who was lying on the bed with her eyes fixated on Kairi. She threw the wet towel on Naminè's face.

"You're not sleeping in my bed without taking a shower first. It's already dark out. Get moving," Kairi ordered her. She wanted to be alone for a moment. Usually, she just slept in a long shirt, but that would be rather careless today. Now she would have to look through her own drawers. Thinking about it, Kairi was really lacking in the nice clothes department. Most of her things were practical, things that promoted agility and evasion.

Naminè picked up the towel and walked to the door. "You look so cute when you're flustered." And before Kairi could throw her pillow, Naminè left, giggling and smiling on her way to the bathroom. When she opened the door, a massive wall of mist came right at her. How long had Kairi been in there? The windows were filmed over with damp and the floor was wet. Amazed by the chaos, Naminè closed the door and started undressing.

"Naminè? Can I come in? I think I forgot something." Kairi knocked on the door, impatiently waiting for a reply. She had completely forgotten to take her clothes with her. And Kairi really didn't want to walk in on Naminè again, on the same day no less. Remembering the incident, she blushed. Naminè was an amazingly cute girl. Much more than she had thought. Those dresses she always wore really concealed her nice figure.

"If it's your clothes, I can just take them with me when I get out. Unless you want to see me naked again, that is." Naminè giggled. She knew how embarrassed Kairi was about it even though she didn't really mind. What was so embarrassing about seeing each other naked anyway?

"Uhm, I'd rather get them myself. Can't you wear a towel or something?" Kairi didn't want someone else to touch her underwear, even if it was Naminè. Much less used underwear.

"Only under one condition." Naminè saw a good opportunity to extend the spoils from before. "Let me sleep in your bed until Olette comes back. And no you sleeping elsewhere. I want us two to share a bed," Naminè demanded and waited curiously for a reply.

"Okay, you win. But let me get my clothes now." Kairi grew more impatient with each second. Naminè really took after Aerith, and that wasn't something good. She was shamelessly abusing this situation. But it wasn't really that bad of a thing. It was just her sleeping in the same bed.

The lock clicked and the door opened a little gap. Naminé had wrapped herself in a towel, her own clothes on the ground in the back of the bathroom. "Can't have you nosebleed seeing me naked," the blond girl teased the other.

"What am I, an old man?" Kairi blushed and averted her eyes. Trying not to look at Naminè at all, Kairi picked up her things and left, not without unintentionally giving Naminè a good look close-up. It brought up some hot memories from the morning and Kairi left in a hurry.

Naminè smiled to herself after Kairi left and locked the door again. Finishing undressing herself, she picked up her clothes and put them on the edge of the bathtub. Holding up a pair of black panties, Naminè almost started laughing. Kairi would absolutely panic if she knew she had forgotten these. Seconds later, the noise of the shower, of water flowing down Naminé's slender body, filled the room.

It was past nine in the evening and Kairi was sort of tired. She was startled when the door opened and Tifa knocked on the frame.

"Kairi? I'm going out with Aerith for a while. Thought I'd let you know." Tifa was wearing a black summer dress that looked really nice on her. The sandals didn't fit at all with it, but the black-clad woman had quite a weird sense of fashion anyway. Kairi was kinda curious as to what Aerith was wearing, but she was too lazy to get up.

"See you tomorrow. I'm going to sleep soon, I'm tired." Kairi waved with her hand to signal that she understood that the two women would be gone for some time. It wasn't unusual for them to go out for walk at this hour. Hollow Bastion had become quite safe lately. It was like the Heartless were giving up on taking the Keyblade and the town.

Tifa had already left when Kairi looked up. Seconds later, the house door fell closed and Kairi could hear Aerith talking from her open window. She couldn't make out what they were talking about, but it seemed like their usual flirting. Would she become like that with Naminè one day? Blushing at the thought, she let herself fall back on her bed, burying her face in the pillow. Would their relationship go that far?

"Are you already asleep?" Naminè walked in the room, a towel on her head, wearing a long shirt she had probably taken from Kairi's drawers earlier. Her hair still wet, with tiny drops falling towards the ground continuously. Holding her old clothes in one hand, Naminè walked over to the basket for laundry, filling it even more.

"I'll put your panties in there. They were mixed in with my clothes." Naminè scratched her cheek with her index finger, sighing when Kairi still didn't respond. Was she really sleeping? She dried her hair a bit more, and when she leaned over Kairi, a drop of cold water landed on Kairi's neck, causing her to jump up, appalled.

Kairi needed a few seconds to know what was going on. Naminè was looking at her, amused and giggling.

"Don't scare me like that!" Kairi complained, and pulled on the towel on her head, causing it to slip over Naminè's face. "Dry your hair, you're getting my bed all wet. And me too, on top of that!"

Kairi moved down from her bed and started to look through her drawers. Aerith had given her a large wooden comb as a present quite some time ago, but she usually didn't bother to use it. Naminè looked a bit like a exploded mop, though. When she was looking through her drawers, she remembered that she didn't want to sleep in just a shirt. But changing now was kinda…

"Ahh, that felt good." Naminè pulled down the towel and hung it over a chair next to the table near the window. "What are you looking for, Kairi? You can stay like that, teehee~" Naminè tried to say it in a seductive tone, but it came out really weirdly and Kairi started giggling uncontrollably after giving her a weird look.

"Meanie." Naminè looked away and made herself comfortable on the bed.

Kairi finally found the comb and proceed to walk over to Naminè, who was happily snuggling with her blanket. With a slightly awkward expression, Kairi pulled Naminè up, positioning herself behind her. "Come on, I'll comb your hair. Otherwise you'll look like a mess tomorrow." And without further ado, Kairi started. Naminè didn't protest or moan, but was silent. It was a nice feeling, though. Caring for each other like that was something Kairi didn't experience every day.

"I never thought you would be the caring type, Kairi," Naminè said after a few minutes of silent combing had passed. Kairi couldn't see it but Naminè was smiling, enjoying this situation. She had longed so much for Kairi to be with her that it felt very satisfying to finally get what she wanted so badly.

"I'm the caring type?" Kairi was a little bit embarrassed and puzzled over that. Was she, really? But if that made Naminè happy, then it was a good thing.

Finishing with a few strokes, Kairi sat back and looked at it from different angles. Naminè's hair was still a bit damp and easy to comb, but it smelled nice and with the light and the water, it looked a bit like it was shining. "There, all done. You look much better now. But you should pay more attention to your hair in the future."

Leaning back without warning, Naminè looked straight up into Kairi's face. Without words, her intentions were quite clear to the redhead. Slowly reaching out with one hand, touching Kairi's cheek, Naminè wanted Kairi to lean down. Naminè's wet hair tickled Kairi's legs. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, Naminè's head resting on them. Their blue eyes met in the middle, two glares becoming one.

Slowly, Kairi followed Naminè's lead, leaning forward until she could feel the breath of the excited girl below her. Reaching out, laying both her arms around Kairi's neck, the blond girl pulled her closer and closer until only an instant was between them.

Kairi could feel Naminè moving up slightly. She wanted it too, wanted to feel her lips again on her own, wanted to share the same embrace they had shared not so long ago. Skin touched, and as Kairi closed her eyes, she could feel the warm lips of the girl she had come to like. It was just like that moment that seemed so far away now. A stream of feelings rushed to her head, letting her forget all about her reservations, and she gave in to the kiss, gave in to Naminè.

How much time passed, neither knew when they finally separated. They kept close, just like they were before the kiss. Naminè smiled and Kairi could not only see but feel that it was because Naminè was madly in love with her. Pulling Kairi closer, Naminè whispered something in her ear. Kairi didn't need to be told, she knew, since a long time. Naminè loved her, but to actually hear her say it was an amazing feeling. It was like something opened up in Kairi, like she was able to cross a bridge that she had not dared to look at for ages.

"I love you too…" Kairi whispered back.

Naminè was speechless. She hadn't expected Kairi to reply, hadn't expected her to say it. But Kairi had, and it was making Naminè unimaginably happy. She hadn't misheard, she hadn't forced it out. Kairi had wanted to say it and she just knew that it was a serious response. Both of them seemed suspended in time, staring at each other, surprised and happy. The towel slipped from the chair and fell to the ground, the sound calling them back to reality.

"I wanted to hear that so much…" Naminè caressed Kairi's cheek with her smooth and slender fingers, smiling even more than before, with a special glimmer in her eyes. It was like they were now the first time truly together. Kairi kept silent, eyes closed, enjoying what Naminè did to her. Her heart was beating fast, her mind fuzzy and in chaos. She hated it, usually, to be like that, but it felt just right for now.

Cold air came in from the window, and Kairi suddenly got goosebumps, ripping the illusionary world she was in abruptly apart. With a look that could only described with "forgive me," Kairi got up, leaving the embrace, leaving the little world they had entered.

It had gotten cold and it was dark. Naminè would sleep in this room tonight, and Kairi was really looking forward to it. Closing the window and turning off the lights, Kairi moved back to her bed. She couldn't see in the darkness, but knew exactly where she had to stop. Naminè had long crawled under the blanket, waiting for Kairi to join her.

"I'm so nervous, I wonder why…" Naminè whispered. It was impossible to tell, but Naminè was actually blushing and averting her eyes when Kairi finally lay down next to her. Searching for her hand, Naminè intertwined her fingers with Kairi's, holding hands under the blanket. Moving closer, bit by bit, Naminè soon could feel the very warmth of Kairi's body, their faces only a bit apart. Naminè's heart skipped when Kairi moved in, kissing her. Snuggled together, they caressed each other's faces until they finally fell asleep, still holding hands.

---Valiant Hearts---

Tifa was still rubbing her head. She had dragged Aerith out for no reason, and now Aerith finally knew why. That brute wanted to spy on Kairi and Naminè.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Tifa Lockhart!" Aerith was still complaining. Tifa had excused herself for a moment, and when she hadn't come back after a few minutes, Aerith had a hunch. The sudden choice to go out and then, just going off like that…there had to be something going on.

And Aerith had been right. It was no special trick to guess where she would be. Tifa was lurking right next to the window, hidden in the shadows, when Aerith found her. With a hit on the head and a glare that could kill, Aerith dragged Tifa away.

"Okay, I got it, I got it! No more spying on the girls. Jeez, you really are a party pooper, Aerith," Tifa complained, walking to a wall and sitting down. "It's not like I wanted to peep on them, I just wanted to know how things were going." Tifa averted her eyes and didn't dare to look at Aerith. She could be really angry when it was about things like private space.

"It's not like I saw anything. Naminè still wasn't out of the shower, and Kairi was just sleeping." Tifa tried to defend herself, more in vain than in success.

"Just let them be. I think it was hard enough for Kairi to finally get there…" Aerith slowly calmed down and walked over to Tifa, sitting down on a higher fragment of the wall. "I'm happy that Kairi finally found someone she can open her heart to." Giving Tifa a warning glare, Aerith added, "And I don't want anyone to ruin that. I want Kairi to be happy."

Tifa sighed, and knew she would not win this argument if she kept on defending herself. All that was left was saying sorry and hoping that Aerith was forgiving. "You're right, my bad. I'm sorry. I wonder how Olette is doing. Yuffie can be a real pain in the neck sometimes." Tifa sighed.

---Valiant Hearts---

The sun was already high in the sky when Kairi finally woke up to the warm rays of light. Looking around, it took her a moment to grasp her surroundings. Something was on her arm. When she looked at it, it was Naminè, clinging to her. The last night slowly came back to her and Kairi blushed quite a bit.

Trying to calm down, she freed herself from Naminè, got up, and opened the window. Fresh air streaming in the room caused Kairi to shiver for a second. She looked back at the bed. Naminè was still refusing to wake up.

Kneeling on the bed, Kairi rubbed Naminè's cheek, trying to wake her up. "Come on, it's already noon. Wake up, sleepyhead." Kairi teased the blond girl a bit more until she gave up. If she wanted to sleep, so be it. They had nothing to do anyway, except getting yelled at for sleeping that long.

Kairi didn't want to leave until Naminè woke up, so she picked up the book from the day before and started reading. Where had she stopped? Page eighty? Something like that. Finding the exact point after a few minutes, Kairi soon lost her concentration. Next to her was still Naminè, sound asleep, and looking incredibly cute. Kairi resisted the temptation to kiss her awake and indulged herself further in the book.

Roughly thirty pages later, and with a big yawn, Naminè woke up. The eyes only half-open, she crawled around in the bed, and having spotted Kairi, immediately clung to her, forcing her attention on herself. "Morning…" Naminè yawned again and took her time fully waking up. "I'm hungry…" Kairi had to laugh and patted her on the head.

"Get up. It's already noon." Kairi smiled and pushed Naminè away, finally getting up herself. She picked out some clothes for the day, intent on going to the bathroom. "I'll bring some clothes over." Kairi left the room and sighed. When she entered the bathroom, Tifa was standing in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth.

"You two are really slacking off lately," Tifa complained while Kairi waited quite impatiently for her to finish so that she could change. "Why are you changing in the bathroom?" Tifa asked, trying to be as natural as possible. She knew that Naminè was most likely still in Kairi's room and that the redhead didn't want to change in front of her.

"Wanted to wash my face," Kairi lied and averted her eyes. She didn't want to explain herself or the situation. "Can you hurry up? And why are you brushing your teeth around this time? Don't tell me you just got up." Now that she looked more closely, Tifa was still dressed casually, not for work.

"I'm off from work today. Aerith too." Tifa answered faithfully and turned around, the toothbrush loose in her mouth, waving with her hands. "I'm gonna close the pub on weekends from now on. It's a pain to work on the weekends, so I'm not gonna do it." And with a sigh, she turned around, finishing up brushing her teeth.

Kairi didn't want to distract her any longer because she wanted to change already. The bathroom door was still open and she was sitting there, in just the shirt she had worn for sleep, with her clothes on her lap. It certainly looked odd for anyone passing by. Had Naminè changed already? Or had that sleepyhead gone back to sleep? If so, Kairi would throw her out of the bed. She usually woke up at her own time and she didn't like oversleeping.

"Kairi? Are you done changing yet?" Naminè looked inside the bathroom, from the floor, her head poking around the corner. "Oh, morning, Tifa." Awkward silence had the room in its iron grip. After a few seconds, Tifa started laughing, then coughing because of the water in her mouth, then laughing again.

"Did Cid test one of his inventions on you? You look rough." Pointing at Naminè's hair, that looked really rough and rumpled, Tifa was hold her side. She broke out in laughter again as Naminè pulled a strand of her hair with a puzzled expression. "Why are you wearing Kairi's clothes, by the way?" Tifa asked with a mean, knowing glare.

"Her clothes are all in the laundry." Kairi jumped in and tried to avert the disaster. "That's why I allowed her to wear some of mine. Aren't you done soon, or are you trying to reach a new record for the longest teeth brushing in history?"

Tifa was so amused by Kairi's impatience that she wanted to tease her some more. "How come it's my turn to do the laundry, but I haven't see any of Naminè's clothes?" It was an obvious lie. It was Tifa's turn, all right, but Kairi knew that there had to be some of Naminè's clothes in the basket. She had watched her drop them in there yesterday.

Aerith joined the crowd. "Tifa, are you still not done? We were supposed to leave an hour ago! I wanted to look for some new clothes at Stilzkin's." Looking at the other two girls, Aerith showed her usual smile. "Morning, Kairi, morning, Naminè." She noticed immediately that Naminè was wearing Kairi's clothes, and that Kairi was apparently quite annoyed with Tifa delaying her leave so long.

"If you aren't done in five minutes, I'm leaving without you," Aerith proclaimed, and left for downstairs.

"Tsk…see you two later." Tifa cursed a few times quietly enough so that Aerith couldn't hear her and finally left the bathroom. Naminè was still standing in the entrance of the room, looking at Kairi, apparently waiting for her to do something. Did she want to watch her change? With a sudden blush, Kairi stood up and shoved Naminè out of the room.

"No peeking," Kairi said, and locked the door. Finally alone, she pulled her shirt off and started to dress. A short black skirt (Kairi had lately taken a liking to darker colors), and a sleeveless top in dark red. She really needed some new shoes.

When Kairi unlocked the door, Naminè was gone. Probably in Kairi's room, reading. When the redhead got there, there was no sign of Naminè. Where had she gone?

"Naminè?" Kairi called. Tifa and Aerith had most likely already left, so there was no one to hear her shouting.

"Hm?" Naminè came out of her room, carrying a sketchbook and two pens, one for dark lines and one for lighter ones. Kairi only now noticed that Naminè was wearing one of her favorite dresses, the pink one-piece, but she had forgotten to wear an undershirt. If one were tall enough, he could stare right at her cleavage. Her white sandals didn't fit one bit, but Kairi didn't say anything. It looked rather good on her, but it was an odd feeling to see that dress on someone else.

"You want to draw something?" Kairi asked.

"You. I want to draw you. Will you model for me Kairi?" Naminè blurted out and showed her usual smile. That was just like Naminè, honest and bold, paired with a bit of naiveté. But Kairi liked that part of her. She always spent a lot of time thinking what she should say and more often than not, she didn't say what she wanted to say. Naminè was different.

"Me?" Kairi was a bit embarrassed about modeling for Naminè. True, she had gotten a lot better lately, but wasn't drawing a portrait really difficult? But to say no would mean to let Naminè down. How bad could it turn out?

"Why not? Where do you want to draw? I guess the light outside is better," Kairi agreed and thought about what pose she should take.

"The tree from yesterday. I want to draw you in front of that old huge tree. I really like being there. It's _our place_." Naminè smiled happily and walked once around Kairi, looking at her. "Can you take Oathkeeper with you? I want you to hold it when I draw you." Besides that, Naminè was satisfied with her outfit. It wasn't what Kairi wore when they first met, but it was nice and rare enough to see Kairi in a skirt.

Kairi just nodded and followed the artist's request, taking the pendant from the table next to her bed and going back to the girl who had already gone downstairs. She was waiting at the open door, where the warm sunshine welcomed them to the day now that they were finally and truly awake. Even though it was past noon, the sun was still high up. It really was about to be summer. It was hot ,and Kairi was thankful that she had worn a skirt. Trousers would be really uncomfortable in this heat.

As they made their way to the tree, holding hands and walking close together, Naminè discussed a few details of the drawing with Kairi. How she should stand, how she should hold Oathkeeper, and where she should look. Kairi rolled her eyes at all the things she had to remember, but for Naminè's sake, she paid attention. When they finally arrived, Naminè wandered about for a few minutes to find a spot with good light and where she could also see the lowest branches of the majestic tree.

"This is good. Kairi?" Naminè asked her model to take position. Leaning on the trunk, holding Oathkeeper only loosely in her hand and with the expression of a dreamer, Kairi looked slightly toward the sky beyond the branches. It wasn't a difficult pose, but she had to stand, and she wasn't allowed to move at all.

"I'm starting now. I will draw your face last so you can talk. I'd be lonely with you being silent all the time," Naminè said, and showed a glimpse of red shimmer on her face.

"How come you suddenly want to draw me?" Kairi asked, unmoving, maintaining her pose. It wasn't like Naminè hadn't had the chance to ask her to draw her, but she never asked. Had she asked now because of last night? They had only kissed, slept together in the same bed. And Kairi had finally told Naminè that she loved her. Was that the reason? Had Naminè waited until she would hear those three magical words?

"Last night made me understand that some things change with time. I want to remember you as you are now, even if you change in the future. I always want to have a piece, a picture, a keepsake of the Kairi who told me she loves me," Naminè answered, being completely truthful. She didn't want to make any excuses, didn't want to leave any uncertainty. "I love you, so I want to draw you."

Kairi had to fight with herself not to look away. She closed her eyes, her face a fierce red. She hadn't thought a second that this would change a anything. She really had meant it, she really loved Naminè. But there was more to it. Something she just couldn't explain. Something that was not love but also just as important…

"Say, Naminè…do you remember anything before you…were captured?" Now that Kairi thought about the future, the past was catching up. She didn't know anything about Naminè's origins. Where she came from, who she was. If she had family, if she had friends, if her world still existed. Back when she arrived she had said she didn't remember anything and they had thought her memory would come back. But Naminè never mentioned anything. There couldn't be people without any memories…right?

"No. When I first opened my eyes I was in what Leon calls the headquarters of the Nobodies. I don't know how I got there, or what I was doing there. They asked me many things, and I still don't understand most of them. I…don't want to think about that time too much." Naminé stopped for a second, as if deep in thought. "What…about your past? You never talk about that. I want to know more about you, understand you." Naminè looked over her sketchbook and kept her gaze on Kairi.

"My past is…probably even worse than yours. Do you remember? The time I first found you, in that castle, in that tower. It was like I was being called by you, like you could see my mind, speak to me through it. Did I imagine that? Did it really happen?" Kairi took a deep breath. There were so many mysterious things about Naminè. So much they—_she_—didn't know.

"You didn't imagine that. I felt it too. I could feel your determination but also your fear, your insecurity about your mission. I could feel that you wanted to save someone and I thought it was me. That's why I called out to you. It happened. But I don't know how…I only could feel your thoughts, your heart when I was in that tower. I can't right now," Naminè answered, and got back to her sketch. She had the legs done and was now drawing Kairi's hips. It was more difficult than she had imagined but she could do it.

"I wonder what that was. It didn't feel like my thoughts were being invaded…more like shared. I don't remember too clearly." Kairi took another deep breath. Such heavy topics were not her specialty and she didn't like talking about it. But her curiosity got the better of her, most of the time. Especially if it dealt with Naminè and her friends.

"About your past…Aerith told me that you fought alone at the end. Against 'Ansem the Dark One'. Who was he?" Naminè wanted to know. Wanted to know what happened to Kairi that she had shut herself away from the world.

"He was…evil. More evil than everything I ever saw. I…think I should tell you. He manipulated me. Everyone. He was not human anymore. A Heartless so powerful that you'd tremble at the sheer sight of it. He planned to attain Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. I followed him to the end of all worlds, where in the depths he waited. Waited for me, knowing I had the only key that could open the Gate to Kingdom Hearts. Or so we thought…" Kairi paused. It was like, by the sole mention of his name, the air cooled down. Chills ran down her spine.

"What happened to him?" Naminè asked. She had completely forgotten about drawing Kairi. She could feel the ominous presence coming from her. Could virtually grasp the terror she had undergone. It was by no account nice. Not human. Shivers shook Naminè when Kairi continued.

"At the end, there was only a door. A point of no return. Beyond there was only darkness. Pure darkness. And there, in the darkness beyond blackest pitch, he was waiting for me. He promised me that I would live eternally. Never get old, never get sick. Power, everything. It seemed too good to be true. And it was.

"I rejected his offer. Enraged, he attacked me. I had no chance. He was like an almighty force, toying with the life of a insect. The pain was unbearable. I almost lost my mind. He was so powerful…darkness was engulfing me, devouring me. No light, not even the Keyblade could protect me from it. I was on the verge of death when I heard the voices of my friends, Sora and Riku. They told me to never give up. That they were waiting for me.

"I could feel Ansem's icy grip on my hand, trying to take the Kingdom Key, the Keyblade he needed to open Kingdom Hearts. I don't know how…I screamed and shouted, my body was breaking under the pain…but I managed to pierce his chest with the Keyblade. From there on, it's all a blur. I don't know if I passed out or what happened. When I opened my eyes again, I was wounded but alive, right in front of Kingdom Hearts." Kairi ended her story looking pale and sick.

"Let's take a break." It was the only thing Naminè said. Dropping her sketchbook, she walked up to Kairi who didn't look too good. "I…understand why you don't want to talk about it. I'm afraid just from hearing about it."

Kairi sat down and leaned back on the trunk. She felt a bit better with Naminè next to her. But talking about all of this woke up her memories. It had been beyond terrifying. She never wanted to experience something like that again. Never.

The next half hour passed without them speaking a word. Kairi slowly regained her color and Naminè kept close to her. Hearing about Ansem…it was like she knew what Kairi was talking about. Like she herself had experienced it. Deep inside, fear held her heart in its grip. Ansem was not like anything else. Naminé was afraid, afraid of seeing Kairi suffer any more.

"I feel much better now, thanks." Kairi forced herself to smile and patted Naminé's head. "I just…don't like to remember those things. We can continue if you want. I'm okay now." Kairi stood up, knocking off the dirt from her skirt.

"Really?" Naminè wasn't sure if Kairi was pretending or really feeling better. But she was so stubborn that no matter what she said now, Kairi would keep claiming that she was okay. Slowly walking back to her sketchbook, Naminè picked it up and started drawing. Checking secretly on Kairi every few lines, Naminè was soon sure that she wasn't pretending. Kairi was a strong girl. She probably dealt with it in her own way.

Naminè continued drawing for almost two hours until she called it enough for the day. It was for both, artist and model, equally difficult to maintain their concentration, and they were hungry. Having skipped breakfast, they hadn't eaten anything until now. The sun was still clearly visible and it was hot, but around an hour after Naminè had started drawing a slight wind had come up, bringing some refreshing cool air with it.

"Want to go and grab something to eat at Kupo's? I hear the Moogles there make really good food. Nothing big, though, since I guess Aerith is gonna make dinner in a few hours," Kairi offered. Kupo's was not just a restaurant. It was part of the big Stilzkin & Kupo chain that had a lot of shops. Stilzkin was a Moogle that had traveled far and wide and collected all sorts of treasures.

"Can we stop by at home first? I don't want to carry my sketchbook with me. The nice drawing would be ruined if someone dropped food or drinks on it."

Kairi could see her point. It was on the way anyway. Maybe a detour of two minutes at best. She also didn't want to carry Oathkeeper all the way with her.

"Sure. Let's go, I'm starving." Kairi smiled, back to her happy self from the morning. Naminè was a bit tired but couldn't help but smile and cling to Kairi, walking arm in arm. "You really are a limpet, do you know that?" Kairi teased the blond girl.

The rest of their day was nothing special. Eating a few burgers at Kupo's, they got home even before Tifa and Aerith. Kairi made herself comfortable on the couch and relaxed a bit. Naminè sat in one of the armchairs and pulled her sketchbook and started to draw without Kairi knowing.

When Tifa and Aerith came home (Aerith looking quite happy and empty-handed, Tifa looking pissed and with four bags of clothes), they noticed Kairi sleeping on the couch and Naminè sleeping in the armchair, holding an half-finished sketch of Kairi sleeping.

"How cute." Aerith giggled, and with an sudden thud, Tifa dropped the bags, dropping herself on a chair on the kitchen bar.

Waking up from the sound, the other two girls bade them welcome home. Aerith started to make dinner and had Naminè help out while Kairi, feeling better, picked up her book she had left upstairs. Tifa was soon gone, taking a shower as she was really exhausted. For the rest of the evening, they could listen to Tifa complaining about what a shopping maniac Aerith was and that fighting Heartless was no big deal in comparison. Receiving giggling from the girls and a mad glare from Aerith, the black-clad woman shut up and ate her dinner in silence.

The rest of the evening was ordinary. Kairi read her book, Naminè made yet another sketch of her lying on her bed, reading. Kairi didn't mind. She had even come to like it and teased Naminè a bit with changing her position just a little sometimes.

The evening came, and Kairi got herself pretty excited. Naminè had demanded that she could sleep for the whole weekend in her bed, but by now, Kairi didn't even want it otherwise. She felt lonely without Naminè around. Going to bed earlier than usual, Kairi and Naminè spent a lot of time still awake.

They held hands and stared at each other for minutes at a time. One gave the other a playful kiss once in a while. They enjoyed the each other's company to the fullest. It was long past midnight when they finally fell asleep, snuggled together while holding hands, their faces just inches apart.

---Valiant Hearts---

It was pitch black out when they woke up. The sirens, all of them, started to sound through the town. It was an alarm. Somewhere in Hollow Bastion, the Heartless were attacking. But all sirens? That was a big alarm. Everyone from the Committee and all Keybladers had to assemble at the point that was signalized by a signal rocket in such a case.

"Get Monochrome. Tifa and Aerith should be awake. Just put on clothes from yesterday!" Kairi ordered, instantly wide awake. Jumping out of her bed, she grabbed the first clothes she could get—her dress that Naminè had worn yesterday. Slipping in her sneakers and grabbing Oathkeeper, Kairi stormed out the room. Tifa was already waiting in the hall. Aerith apparently still dressing.

"Damn these things. It's been so calm lately that we've let our guard down," Tifa cursed and stomped. Kairi could feel the ground shaking a bit. A full alarm was an extreme case.

"Where is the alarm coming from?" Kairi asked, agitated. "There should be a signal rocket, but I couldn't see it from my room."

At that moment, Naminè ran past them, coming out of Kairi's room. Tifa noticed but knew already. She didn't say anything, pretending she didn't see her. Naminè was wearing the clothes Kairi had worn yesterday.

Seconds later, the blond Keyblader joined the other two, still waiting for Aerith. "Aren't you done yet? We don't have time! You don't have to look perfect!" Tifa yelled. The sirens were still ongoing, earsplitting in volume.

"I'm ready!" Aerith came out of the shared bedroom, panting and wheezing.

The group left the house, moving in to the command center of Hollow Bastion, Merlin's house. Leon was probably already waiting. They didn't have to run that far to find the grim sword wielder.

"C District. It's a level four alarm!" Leon yelled while running past the group at full speed. Level four. The highest alarm that there was. While level one could be handled by the defense system, level two was a larger scale of stronger Heartless. Level three was already an invasion. There had never before been a level four alarm.

"Someone is leading them! They look like Heartless from Agrabah. Kairi! Didn't you report that you sealed the local master of the Heartless there?!" Leon shouted. The sirens didn't stop, and they were all running.

"I did!" Kairi defended herself. Jafar had become a genie, but she had tricked him into a game, mocking his intelligence. Aladdin, a local thief, had helped her to steal Jafar's lamp and seal him in there. Agrabah had been on the brink of destruction back then. It couldn't be him. It was impossible.

"Don't blame her, Leon! We have two Keybladers and we can fight to our fullest in an uninhabited district. We will win!" Tifa shouted, running left of Leon. Naminè had problems keeping up with the more physically trained others.

"Tifa, Kairi and I will go ahead! You two, come after us. Don't hold back if you encounter the enemy. We can repair buildings, we cannot repair hearts!" Leon ordered Naminè and Aerith, and left with the other two, running ahead.

Nobody knew that it was the beginning of a night that would last for a long time.

End of Chapter XVIII


	19. Rise of the Shadows – The Longest Day

Author note: Due to ( mainly ) lazyness, chapter 20 is stuck in progress and I'm stuck with annoying things like real life and my addiction to one ( two ) certain games. damn this. I haven't lost interest, I just can't find enough motivation to actually get down and work on VH 2 instead of doing whatever comes to mind. Don't worry that'll only be temporarly. I hope -_- enough ranting, on with ze story.

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XIX

_Rise of the Shadows -_

_The Longest Day_

"Hyaa! Meteordive!" Tifa jumped from a scaffolding and slammed her fist into the ground, which simultaneously caused an explosion right around her that inflicted massive damage to the fire-spewing Heartless.

It was time the others caught up. Leon and Kairi were holding their own, but they were more suited to combat that only targeted one enemy. Not this.

It was more than just an invasion. Right in the middle of the district was a gigantic hole in the ground—the world's barrier to the darkness. Heartless were crawling out of it at an alarming rate. Merlin was occupied with holding up the barrier of light they had erected over the district to prevent the rest of the town from becoming infested with the dark creatures. They needed Aerith and Naminè, who had fallen behind. Their magics could cause heavy area damage.

Tifa was just a few meters away from Leon, who had used lightning magic to extend his sword to thrice its length so that he could kill dozens of Heartless with each swing. But there was no end to this. Not only was there a legion of Heartless, but they were fairly high-grade, too. For each one he killed, two took the first one's place. Leon's legs were injured and his left shoulder had taken some damage. Tifa was just as bad—both arms, hands, and legs were covered with cuts and scratches, and there were two cuts on her left cheek. Tifa was too reckless in fighting, but that was usually okay because of Aerith's powerful protection and curative magic. Leon was…well, Leon. He tried not to overdo it, but he wasn't as quick as Tifa.

Kairi had taken the least damage. As she took Oathkeeper in both hands, Kairi made a wide jump, landing right behind a batch of quick but weak Heartless. She turned instantly around, using the momentum to cut all of them into two. They dissolved quickly, but others took their place just as fast.

"Fira!" Kairi shot a series of fireballs right at them, killing them just as they appeared.

The three were in big trouble if reinforcements didn't arrive soon.

"Leon! Kairi! Get away, I'm going wild for a bit!" Tifa yelled as she jumped back on the scaffolding and made for a half-finished staircase.

They had to close the hole in the ground, even if they had to destroy a few houses to do it. Tifa was wheezing and panting heavily. She had been the first to arrive, being the fastest of them all, and she had crashed right into the masses of Heartless. She had taken down a few big ones with extreme force, punching right through their bodies. Thank God the Heartless dissolved into darkness rather than bleed.

Leon had already evacuated, knowing well that standing in the way when Tifa went crazy was all but suicide. Kairi was following him, having made her way onto the rooftops of mostly finished houses, evading the ground that was swarming with the evil beasts. Suddenly, a good two hundred feet away, a pillar of light shot up from the ground and a immense explosion followed, basically turning everything to dust.

Aerith was there. Naminè must be too. Kairi was worried about her and she changed course, heading to the location of the magicians. They were absolutely necessary and much more important than single combat fighter types in this situation. Kairi would play the role of protector. Even the best wizard wasn't immune to their own magic.

"Shield!" Aerith shouted, erecting a magic barrier right around Naminè's body. The girl was still inexperienced in massive fights like these and she was having a hard time, but even Aerith was amazed at these numbers. It wasn't normal by any means. The previous Ultima had drained a lot of magic power from her, but it had taken hundreds of Heartless with it. As she used the time to recover a bit and refresh their protective spells, Aerith had Naminè prepare an Eidolon. Usually, she never allowed it, but the situation was grave. If the whole district was infested this badly, they had little choice but to completely level it to the ground.

"…_and thy power, o Lord of Inferno, grant upon me to destroy who stands before me_…" Naminè used the exact recitation Aerith had given her. That would prevent Ifrit from going out of control and destroying his master with everything else. In the worst case, Aerith would counter-summon Shiva, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that. She had to keep up her protective magic to prevent them from being fried as well.

Kairi had almost reached the place Aerith and Naminè were holding their ground when the air started to feel heavy. She stopped for a second, and looking back, she saw the rooftop of a building still under construction was glowing with a bright light.

"Always over the top…" Kairi muttered, and started running as fast as she could. She had to get somewhere safe on the ground before Tifa unleashed her power. She was a good deal away, but the shock wave could cause some of the buildings to crash down. Kairi was just too familiar with what was coming. To make it all worse, Aerith and Naminè seemed to be up to something big as well. Kairi would be caught between them.

It was raw chaos. While Tifa was at the center, preparing for a big attack, Kairi was running over the rooftops towards Aerith and Naminè, not only to support them but also to warn them of Tifa's attack. All the while, the two magicians themselves were about to unleash a huge spell.

Aerith was prepared to summon Shiva in case something happened now. Naminè spoke the last words of the recitation, and in the ground, a hole opened up and a stream of fire blew out of it. A horned, fire-breathing beast with yellow skin and red fur escaped from the hell of flames, floating in mid-air.

"Destroy them!" Naminè commanded, pointing at the approaching mass of darkness. As if to accept her command, Ifrit breathed out a large gush of fire and, raising his paws, gained momentum until he finally crashed in the middle of the mass, causing an inferno of flames that set the whole area on fire. The Heartless were gone, and half of the plaza they were in was burning.

Kairi was blinded by the sudden brightness of the flames but made her way safely down. She landed right behind Aerith, who turned around, her staff pointed at Kairi—ready to unleash a powerful spell at any time.

"Take cover! Tifa's doing _that!_" Kairi warned, but it was too late.

Everything went silent. It was like something was sucking away all noise. Then, the world stopped. It seemed to take an eternity, but it happened in seconds. In the center of the district something exploded. It was roughly the size of an Ultima explosion. Then the addendum of the act followed. The shock wave was so strong that it knocked all three of them over, blowing away the smaller Heartless. Tifa had just blown the center of the district to smithereens.

"I always tell her not to use Final Heaven! Last time she almost got herself killed," Aerith complained, standing up. "We've got to save her now."

The streets were still swarming with Heartless, but they all seemed to be heading towards the cause of the explosion now. Kairi knew about the weak points of these battles, and the three of them made fast progress to the place of the explosion. At the very center of it was Tifa, bleeding heavily from her arms and legs but still fighting the Heartless that were trying to kill her.

Kairi knew what they had to do now. As she took Naminé's hand, she looked around. Heartless were streaming in from six different streets to this center. If they could hold this ground, it would prove tactically useful. The place where the hole had been was blocked by enormous fragments of the buildings that had previously surrounded it. It was like a gigantic crater instead of a plaza now. They had to save Tifa and then get out of there.

"Stay with me, Naminè," Kairi said, and made a horizontal slash right above Naminè's head, cutting apart a Heartless. "I will protect you. Aim for the streets. The Heartless concentrate at these. Magic will prove extremely useful. Don't use fire, they're resistant. Ifrit worked, but weaker magic won't."

With a nod, Naminè prepared for several spells of recitation magic. If Kairi protected her, she didn't need to rely on instant casting magic. The stronger, the better for now.

Kairi danced around Naminè, slashing the crawling Heartless on the ground, cutting away the legs of the bigger ones, finishing them with ice magic and beheading them. She would only last so long. They had to end this quickly.

"_Pass judgment on those that rebel against order!_" Naminè fired a lightning bolt right at the entrance of a street, causing the walls to crumble and crash down on the Heartless, blocking the way for any more. "_Rage of the Divine!_" Another one missed the critical point this time, only turning dozens of Heartless to ash.

Aerith was holding off any Heartless that targeted Tifa, and there were a lot. Using high-grade magic like Icega and Boltga continuously was wearing even her out over time.

"We need to get out of here. No sense wasting our energy fighting these Heartless from all sides at once," Tifa said, kneeling right beside Aerith as she let the curative spell do its work. No magic could heal instantaneously, and even Aerith was no exception to that.

Even Kairi was starting to see to see how pointless it was. Sure, if they could hold this wide space it would allow them to use vastly destructive attacks on spots where the Heartless were concentrated, causing maximum damage with minimum cost. But what sense did it make to continuously fight off Heartless if they couldn't seal the source of them?

"Kairi! Aerith! We're retreating from this place. The barrier is still up and Merlin will be able to keep it up a bit longer. We need to regroup. I have no idea were Cid is and Tifa is in no condition to fight." Leon had jumped down from a rooftop, right in the middle of the space between Kairi's group and Aerith's group. "Get out of here now!" he shouted. He and spun around, taking care of a few approaching Heartless.

Kairi had a deep cut on her right cheek and some minor ones on arms and legs, mostly scratches. Only Aerith and Naminè were basically uninjured thanks to Aerith's shield magic, but even that was only physically. They were exhausted, and if this went on, they would break down soon.

"We're leaving!" Kairi said, dematerializing Oathkeeper and picking up Naminè. "Keep Monochrome. If something attacks us, I need you to blast it off. I'll carry you out of here—it's the only way. The streets are blocked by the masses of Heartless," Kairi explained while already carrying Naminè as they made their way up to the roof. The ground trembled below them, but that was nothing new. Kairi couldn't afford to look what caused it, but it was probably Tifa or one of Aerith's major spells.

The air suddenly froze. That was too sudden and severe, even if Aerith had summoned Shiva. Looking back, Kairi's eyes went wide in shock. The Heartless, now freely moving through the crater, had started to merge. Slowly but surely, a gigantic Darkside giant was rising. It was already towering over the buildings that had survived the blasts.

"Shit, that thing won't even notice Merlin's barrier!" Kairi stopped on the roof of a half-collapsed building. "We need to take it out right here." She looked over at Aerith and Tifa, who were on the other side. They seemed to have noticed too. Leon was on a high-up balcony in between. He signalized an attack. They had to take this thing out. If it got away, the Heartless could spread all over Hollow Bastion. "Naminè, can you still fight?"

"I'm okay," Naminè answered honestly, and took a deep breath. "But I don't think my spells will have much effect on a thing this size…" Aerith had taught her well. She knew that it was important to use every opportunity to regain some of her magic power in order to lessen the burden on her mind. Having Kairi with her helped a great deal, but even so, she wasn't nearly as powerful as Aerith. "What _is_ that?"

Kairi looked at the situation. Leon seemed to be concentrating on something. He was strong and had a few special moves of his own, but they all needed some preparation time. Aerith seemed to be preparing for something big as well, as did Tifa. They were relatively safe on the roofs, but they would have to divert the attention of the Darkside to successfully destroy the gate.

"Naminè, I know you shouldn't use it, but try to use a lightning recitation summoning. Aim it at the center of the crater. Just don't overdo it. I can't do much from here, I need that thing to go down before I can cause some real damage." Kairi knew that it was asking too much, but they had no choice.

Naminè but nodded, took a deep breath, leaned over, and amidst all the fighting, kissed Kairi. "Helps me concentrate," she said upon seeing Kairi's confused look. "Lightning…" Naminè knew three different entities of lighting to call upon. Ramuh was the weakest one, and by the size of this thing it probably wasn't enough with her magic potential. Something big…

Kairi started to use Fira spells, shooting at the Darkside. It seemed to have no effect other than burning a few Heartless away from its form. Good thing it was still taking shape and not completely finished. A Darkside was immensely powerful. Even if they were five against one, a single Darkside could multiply their troubles into heights never seen before.

"_Beyond the clouds, in thy anger we bathe. Lord of Thunder, Voice of the Gods, hear my plea. To destroy those that do not wield thy power is my wish. Grant me thy power, o Master of Lighting. Descend, __Adrammelech__!_"

Concentrating hard and somewhat at ease thanks to Kairi being with her, Naminè finished the summoning. Crumbs of stone started to bounce over the ground, and iron bars and girders located towards the center of the crater began to groan and bend. Was the spell going out of control? Kairi hope it wouldn't, as she was responsible for Naminè casting this.

Kairi was scared at the sight of what happened next. Small electric bolts started to emit from over the Darkside that crashed into nearby buildings, ripping holes in massive stone and ground. It seemed like an illusion or an image of blurred air, but Kairi could make out a ball of lightning floating right over the crater.

With a howl that went through bone, a lightning bolt so massive that it seemed like a beam crashed down from the ball, hitting the Darkside and splitting right through it until hitting the ground. The bolt raised a cloud of dust and dirt and was followed by an explosion. By the time the dirt cloud vanished, they could see the results of their doings. The Darkside was still there. It was only slightly damaged. It wasn't that the summoning had been unsuccessful, it was just Naminè not having enough power to actually call upon such a powerful being.

Looking around, Aerith was still preparing, but Tifa was missing. Searching for her with wild looks, Kairi spotted her jumping over the roofs to the place where Leon was. What was she planning to do? Leon was apparently still concentrating. Naminè's spell had slowed down the Darkside, but would it be enough time? Tifa passed Leon. Was she heading over _here?_ They had caused the summoning of Volt—was she here to scold them? In _this_ situation? Now? That was impossible.

"It's coming!" Naminè shouted, taking cover. A gigantic black claw, easily five times the size of an adult, was reaching for them, trying to grab and crush them. Kairi had fought one of these things before and she knew that even they felt pain. Making a huge jump, Kairi slashed furiously at the fingers of the beast in mid-air. With a brutal stab, Kairi plunged Oathkeeper into the top of the claw of the beast, where it stuck.

The beast whined out in pain, taking back its claw with Kairi still attached to it. Taking out Oathkeeper, Kairi started to run over the arm of the monster. It was almost as wide as a small street. When she reached the shoulder, before the beast could react, Kairi jumped and rammed Oathkeeper in the eye of the thing, causing it to bend its back in pain. It furiously began to shake its head, and Kairi couldn't keep her grip on Oathkeeper and was thrown off.

Tifa made a huge jump from one of the roofs, grabbing Kairi's arm in mid-air and pulling the Keyblader with her. They landed on a broken balcony, and Tifa immediately forced Kairi with her by not letting go of her and instead jumping back up to the roof.

"Idiot! What if I hadn't caught you?!" Tifa yelled angrily.

"I knew you would! I calculated your position from your running speed. You were in the perfect position to catch me," Kairi answered, closing her eyes and moving her face away from Tifa. "Come!" she suddenly shouted.

Oathkeeper vanished from the eye of the Darkside that was going wild from the pain and appeared in her hand. "What are the others doing?" Kairi asked the fighter.

"Aerith is going with a full force Ultima. It should damage that monstrosity a lot. Leon, I don't know, but he could go for _that_, you know," Tifa answered, and added, "I already used a Final Heaven earlier. I don't have the energy left for another. I can go close combat with it when it goes down from the Ultima. I trust you to come with me. Naminè can support us from here." Tifa wasn't dumb either. She had a lot of experience fighting and she knew the abilities of everyone well.

With a quick look around, Kairi decided it would be wise to get back to Naminè ASAP, and Tifa followed her. After a big jump, Kairi took another quick look around, this time to the ground. It was crawling with Heartless. Falling down there meant certain doom.

"Kairi, are you okay?" Naminè came running up to her, worried.

"Down!" Kairi shouted, unable to answer the magician's question. She lay down on the roof, pulling Naminè with her. Since Kairi never gave such commands without good reason, Tifa did the same just seconds later. The electricity in the air was making the hairs on her neck were standing up, which meant Aerith must've really been giving it her all.

For in the blink of an eye, another roof shimmered with green light, and a pillar of the same green light flew towards the Darkside. The pillar went right through it, taking half of its upper body and its entire right arm with it. Tifa could see Aerith on her knees when the light vanished.

"I knew Aerith was strong, but that was crazy…" Kairi said, looking over to where Aerith was. From the corner of her eye, she noticed something else. Leon.

"_Blasting Zone!_" Leon yelled, raising his gunblade up. Seconds later an energy ray emitted from it, slowly forming a pillar that was at least six feet in diameter. As he jumped to a lower level, taking the pillar with him, Leon aimed his sword down, which effectively leveled two houses that stood in the way as he moved the beam horizontally. Seconds later it cut through the legs of the Darkside, making it fall over. Darkness dispersed from the cut-off part, as if it were disintegrating. Leon didn't lose any time and pushed forward, jumping onto the cut-off parts, making his way to the upper body of the beast.

"Kairi, now is our chance to take that thing down!" Tifa shouted, and when Kairi turned to look she was already gone

With a dangerous jump, she landed right on the ground and made a sprint to where Leon was, reaching the upper parts even before him. Another powerful jump later, Tifa was face-to-face with the monster and violently ramming her fist in the wound Kairi had caused earlier. Leon, meanwhile, was hacking away at the deadly wound the Ultima had left.

Kairi was the last to arrive, but her attacks had the biggest effect since a Keyblade was essentially an anti-Heartless weapon. Ramming Oathkeeper into the body of the Darkside, Kairi slowly made her way up. The Heartless on the ground were assembling, trying to repair the damage caused by the group, but they weren't fast enough.

Kairi finally reached the upper part of the Darkside where Leon was. They would need to unleash one fatal attack to kill this thing, and Kairi already knew how.

"Tifa!" Kairi shouted, and the fighter left her position to join Kairi. "Throw me. I'll finish this!"

Without complaint, Tifa stretched out her arm, standing before Kairi. The redhead jumped on her arm and Tifa instantly started to spin. With a powerful swing, she shot Kairi up in the air high enough so that she was just on par with the head of the Darkside. It was time to finish this.

Using an attack she had named "Cascade" Kairi threw Oathkeeper right at the head of the Darkside. It completely submerged in the darkness. Still rising, Kairi closed her eyes and imagined her Keyblade while putting both hands to her heart. When she opened her eyes, she stretched out her right arm, grabbing air, holding nothing.

Starting to make seemingly wild and senseless moves, the Darkside started to run amok. In an extreme frenzy, it started to hit everything in its way. Tifa tried to get away but got hit. She crashed into a nearby building, walls collapsing behind her. Leon was forced to withdraw.

Kairi landed on the ground, gritting her teeth from the pain of the impact. But she had to swallow the urge to yell out and give in to the pain and start to run, to get away.

The Darkside was collapsing, releasing countless Heartless as it started to break into parts. It was time to get out of there. Kairi managed to get to where Tifa was. The black-haired woman was bleeding heavily but managed to stand on her own. When she looked up, Kairi spotted Aerith who had Naminè with her. Seeing her made Kairi let her guard down for a second, and suddenly a few Heartless that had approached were attacking them, leaving no time to block or counterattack. Trying to get away, Kairi's legs gave in to pain and she stumbled. But in the brink of an eye, a massive blade crushed the Heartless, saving both Tifa and Kairi.

"Cloud! What are you doing here?" Tifa was amazed. The eccentric man wasn't known to care about this world or anything at all if it wasn't related to Sephiroth. Kairi used the chance to stand up and take a breather. Cloud was a formidable fighter. Stronger than Leon but more of a brute and less of a tactician, he was more than an equal match to their leader.

"If this world falls to the darkness, I will be back to nothing on my search for Sephiroth. I know he is in this world somewhere. I will not watch it vanish," Cloud said, violently crushing a few approaching Heartless. "Get out of here. You're in the way."

"Thanks," Kairi said, despite his rough comment, and started to run away with Tifa.

"We're regrouping at a point right outside the barrier, next to Marle's Garage. Don't get yourself killed, Cloud!" Tifa shouted as they left the guy with the blond spiky hair behind them.

Upon Kairi's funny look, Tifa sighed. "I don't care about him like that. But he is still an old friend. I don't want him to die or become a Heartless," she explained, and started to run faster. Kairi didn't ask any more questions, also to preserve her breath. There were unusually few Heartless on the streets now, and it was a welcome gift, as they didn't have the energy to make it up to the roofs.

The ground suddenly shook violently, and both Kairi and Tifa hit the ground, unprepared for a quake of that magnitude. Looking back, Kairi went pale. Another Darkside was towering over the crushed buildings, trying to catch something in the air.

"Cloud is fighting it all alone," Tifa said. With a flash of light, one of the arms of the Darkside was cut off, making the monster cry out in rage. Another quake. It seemed the monster was stomping on something. "That must be Leon."

"Leave this to them, they're going to—" Kairi stopped. In the midst of all this chaos, Cid ran past her, carrying a lance and a bag. "We need to get out of here now," she concluded. If Cid was involved, things always went straight to hell. And to make it worse, he could actually go all out here. Kairi was hoping he wouldn't blow up the entire district. He really had a fetish for dynamite and these things.

Without further comment, they made it out of the district. Passing the barrier was no problem. Since it made them feel a bit numb, it helped to actually lessened the pain they were feeling. Aerith and Naminè were already waiting for them.

"Kairi! Are you okay?" Naminè started running towards the other Keyblader as soon as she saw her. Hugging her on reflex, Kairi had to grit her teeth from the pain. "I'm sorry! I'll heal you right away. Aerith is busy healing Tifa, so I'll do it." Naminè led Kairi to a bench and had her sit down.

It was obvious how tired Naminè was. She was pale and sweating, even though it was cold. How long had this attack been going on? The sun was already rising on the the horizon. Would they win this battle? There seemed no end to the Heartless.

Naminè used a curative spell on Kairi. The pain rose up as injuries were forcefully closed and made Kairi almost pass out. Naminè's magic was much rougher than usual, but that was to be expected. She had been using it for almost two hours now.

"I'm sorry, but this is all I can do…" Naminè apologized and took a deep breath, holding her forehead. It was the worst she had ever felt. Not even when she had misused Celsius had she felt this bad. Was this the same sort of battles Kairi had been through in the past? Naminè finally started to understand a little why she had trained so hard. It was a war they could only win if every one of them gave it their best.

"Don't worry, you did fine," Kairi said, and pulled Naminè close. The battle was still going on. Every now and then, they could hear explosions and the angry growl of the Darkside Cloud and Leon were fighting against. Everyone was doing everything they could. But who was leading these Heartless? Who had cut a hole in the barrier of the world? Who had the power to do that? Kairi could only think of Ansem, but he was dead. So who…?

"Can I lean onto you for a bit?" Naminè asked, not sure if it was okay because Kairi was hurt. "I want to close my eyes just for a moment…" the magician said, and looked on the ground. Before she knew it, Kairi had pulled her over and forced her to lie down on her lap.

"Sure. My shoulder hurts, but this is fine. Try to rest a bit." Kairi was too tired to be embarrassed about this. She knew it was the best for Naminè to rest as much as possible. Aerith, too, was leaning back on Tifa as they sat on the ground. She was apparently asleep, or at least looking like it.

"Close your eyes. I'll watch out for you," Kairi said as nicely as she could. Her shoulder still hurt, and the curative magic made it a lot worse. Faster regeneration didn't mean less pain. It was the opposite. The stronger the healing magic, the stronger the pain that came with it. But it was a necessary thing in times like these.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Hey hey hey!" Cid shouted, piercing the approaching black hand of the Darkside. It was a lost battle without a Keyblader, but both of them were too tired or injured to fight right now. Cid, Cloud, and Leon had to destroy this thing without their help, but it seemed to regenerate just as fast as they caused damage. Without summoning magic or some extreme attacks, they just didn't have enough power. Cid was busy running around the Darkside, placing something here, something there, preparing for something big.

"This thing is through," Cloud said to Leon. Both of them were standing back to back, surrounded by Heartless that had spawned off the Darkside. Leon was exhausted, but Cloud still had some energy left in him.

"You can go home if you want, old man!" Cloud mocked Leon and made a push right in the rows of the Heartless, ferociously crushing, slaying everything that approached him, touched him.

He had tasted the power of the Heartless. He had once made a pact with Hades, and some of the darkness still remained inside him. He knew no fear, not anymore. These were just weaklings. But even so, they were infinite in their numbers, steadily spawning more. What in the world was Cid doing? He had asked them to hold out for a while, to keep this monster busy, but what in the world…?

"It's coming, and you're going to regret the 'old man'!" Leon shouted. He made a run for it, used a nearby wall fragment that had fallen down to catapult himself on top of the giant's hand, and hacking away on its fingers, causing the massive Heartless to withdraw its arm. While Leon was still on top of it, he concentrated for a second and used the same lightning magic as before to enlarge his sword. With a powerful jump and an even more powerful stab, he rammed his sword to the hilt into the chest of the Heartless. "_Now!_"

Cloud was standing on a roof, waiting for the right moment to strike. Cloud now unleashed a series of rays from his sword, all of them hitting on the same height Leon was on but on the other side of the wide chest of the Darkside. It was too much for the Heartless and it lost its balance, falling down. Once it crashed down on the ground. Leon immediately withdrew. Whatever Cid had planned, it was now his turn. Cloud took shelter behind a pile of iron bars, while Leon hid behind a wall fragment on the ground. Cid pulled a trigger from his pocket and looked at the Darkside. It was in a perfect position.

"Go to hell!" Cid yelled, and pushed the button, before immediately jumping and hiding behind a large piece of steel.

First came the explosion, powerful enough to turn everything in the at least two-hundred-foot crater to ash, then the shock wave, which shook ground and everything else alike. When the enormous dust cloud vanished, the crater had gained even more depth. It was easily twenty feet deep now, and the ground was still burning. Some of the buildings nearby had been turned to dust, leveled to the ground. The main problem was still at hand. The hole in the world's barrier was still there. Kairi and Naminè needed to lock that, but would they be able to? It wasn't just any Keyhole.

"Retreat!" Leon shouted. He had several burns on his arms, legs and face, but he managed to keep running. Cloud managed to burst out from the couple of rocks he had been buried under, amazingly following Leon's order. Even he had his limits, and this never-ending fight was just stupid to continue. Cid had been running long before Leon ordered to retreat.

The Heartless would take some time to build the next Darkside. It was apparently their clear intent to do so. They were already gathering in the very same spot. It was kind of unnatural, though, as usually the Heartless didn't tactically aim for such things. They were too primitive for this. Someone had to be pulling the strings in the shadows. But who had the power to do this?

---Valiant Hearts---

"The barrier still stands, and thanks to Cid's machine, whatever it's called…"

"It's the MAM, Magic Amplifier Module, you…" Cid interrupted Leon and patted his machine. It allowed Merlin to use just a minimum amount of magic to achieve the same result as before. This way they could keep the barrier up for extended periods of time.

"Yes, whatever. Thanks to this thing, we can plan our next attack. The Heartless will probably need some more time to form another Darkside, but we can't afford to sit around for too long."

Leon continued his speech. Everyone was exhausted and resting in front of the barrier. They had been supplied with food from Maria, who worked for a bakery. The sun was up by now, which meant more than four hours had passed since the alarm. The whole town was in a state of emergency, but it was under control, thanks to Merlin and Cid and the ones that destroyed the two Darksides.

"We need to seal that hellhole. Despite whatever caused it, Kairi and Naminè should be able to close it. A Keyblade can close and open any lock. I believe it will work." Tifa spoke up, trying to stand, but Aerith pulled her back down. She wasn't allowed to walk around for now. They had to use every moment to rest so they would be be in as good a shape as possible.

"I was thinking the same," Leon said. "We're in deep trouble if we can't close it. I really wish Olette and Yuffie were here. They would be really helpful right now. But there's no use whining about it. We'll split into two teams. Cloud, Cid, Tifa, and I will form one team. Kairi, Naminè, and Aerith will form another. Aerith, it's your job to ensure they get through. We will open a path for you, and if there is a Darkside, we will take it down, or at least keep it busy until you seal the portal. That's all," Leon told everyone.

Nobody complained, not even Cloud. Amazingly, he was still present, silently chewing some bread in a corner as he leaned on his sword that he had rammed into the ground.

Aerith and Tifa were still where they had been the last hour, leaning back on back on the ground. It was pretty obvious that Tifa had the same effect on Aerith as Kairi had on Naminè. Kairi could only guess how complicated the mind of a pure spellcaster was, but having their loved ones right next to them probably put them at emotional ease.

Naminè was sleeping on Kairi's lap, and it was good that way. Kairi would wake her up some time before they attacked. She would need to eat something.

Cid was doing some maintenance on the machine. It would allow Merlin to take a break. He had been holding up the barrier for the entire time now. Countless Heartless were crawling near the borders, trying to escape, but it was pointless.

Nobody was in good shape except Cid, but he had been up for far over twenty-four hours now. He could screw up. Leon did trust him, but it was a risk, one he had to take. Leon himself was sitting down, his back to a wall, watching.

Tifa was pretty bad—injured all over the place. Aerith's curative magic was strong, but even so, it was only accelerating the process. No instantaneous healing. Kairi was only slightly injured and given the situation, in pretty good condition. Naminè would probably be fine after taking a nap.

Aerith, however, seemed beyond exhausted. She wasn't in any condition to fight. Leon had put her into Kairi's team so she only had to protect them from random Heartless, not fight the big mobs. Cloud…well, he didn't seem too bad, but who knew what was up with him. Leon didn't especially care for his well-being.

Beyond just stopping this attack was the question of where it had come from and what to do to prevent this from happening again. Just from the look of it, the Heartless were locals to the world of Agrabah, but for the past year, there had been no sign of any major Heartless showing up. And disrupting and breaking a world's barrier was no small feat. Something big was behind this.

Leon made his way over to where Kairi was sitting with Naminè on her lap. "I need to speak to you. It's about this attack."

It was an order. He would question, she would answer. Kairi was a Keyblader, but Leon was the one making the decisions. "These are clearly locals to Agrabah from what info we have from the past. Can you think of anyone having the power to do this?"

Kairi sighed. She knew someone who could do that. "A wizard named Jafar. He became a genie through the power of another genie. I sealed him in his lamp and hid it in ruins far outside the town. Nobody could have found it. Even so, Aladdin, a local guy that helped me out back there, promised to check on the hideout from time to time." It was pretty obvious from this that Jafar had been freed. Nobody but an almost almighty genie could open a hole in a world's barrier towards the darkness.

"How are we going to deal with a genie? It'll be difficult to seal him into his lamp again. And from what I know, a genie is a multitude stronger than anything we know, including Eidolons. I will need more details after this. Try to rest for now. I need you in top condition," Leon concluded, and walked back to his spot. "A genie. I will need to ask Merlin about this later." Closing his eyes and laying a hand on his forehead, he got lost in his thoughts.

"Wake up. Naminè. Wake up." Kairi was gently shaking the blond girl, trying to wake her up. She had to eat something before their next attack began. There was no telling when the next Darkside was ready, and no barrier of this world could hold a Heartless of that format. They had to hurry.

"What…!" Naminè was wide awake. She suddenly remembered what was happening, and only now noticed that she had fallen asleep.

Kairi handed her some bread and water. Even Naminè understood that this wasn't the time to fool around, and that they needed to concentrate on what they had to do. Taking the food, she spent the next few minutes chewing and collecting her thoughts. She felt much better than before the break, but she still wasn't top condition. And the inside of the barrier seemed worse than ever. The border of the barrier was a black mass with eyes and antennas. Terrifying.

"Listen!" Leon made his next move. "We will lower the power of the barrier on the borders. That'll make the Heartless try to escape. We have placed numerous members of the town militia around the district. They will fight and destroy whatever escapes. We need to decimate their numbers before we attempt to clear a path, and this is the only way without making it a suicide mission. I don't like it, but we don't have any other choice. We will commence our attack five minutes after we lower the barrier, so keep yourself on stand-by. Form your teams. I don't want to see any causalities."

Kairi was always amazed when she heard Leon like this. His experience seemed to be from real battles. He came up with the plan of using the militia to decimate the Heartless that had amassed on the barrier's border and also had personally placed each single one of them. There were eight people on the small area where the Keyblader group had rested. Kairi only knew four of them. The other four were unknown faces to her. With three women and five men, it was a close match-up of magician and defender.

"Commence!" Leon shouted, and the message was relayed by others. The attack begun. The barrier's light-blue field lost considerable power, and countless Heartless started flowing out of it. The militia engaged them at once, firing bolts of magic and projectiles at the burn points where the Heartless density was extremely high. Kairi had to suppress the urge to go and help them.

She had another job to do. Each minute seemed to take an eternity to pass. More than often, the Heartless reached the militia members, and the defender had to protect the magician. It was already a fierce battle. They had to put an end to this before too many got hurt or died. There were no causalities yet, but given the numbers of the enemy, and the little experience the militia had, it was only a question of time.

Kairi watched Leon closely, waiting for the signal, and it eventually came. Summoning Oathkeeper and Monochrome, both girls joined Aerith and started to run. Cid was in front, throwing explosives to all sides. The district was already a mess, so nobody even cared anymore. The Heartless suffered massive causalities, and everything that took the place of its predecessor was eliminated by Leon, Cloud, and Tifa. Kairi felt horrible for just running after them, barely fighting. But she and Naminè were the only ones capable of closing the portal to darkness.

Slamming her fist in a nearby wall, Tifa smashed the outer wall of an half-collapsed building, which crushed hundreds of Heartless that were swarming below and inside the wreck.

"There's no end to this!" Tifa yelled, and took a quick look around. Heartless were closing in from all sides, even though a lot of them were leaving the barrier continuously. The Keyblade must be the cause for that.

"Keep going!" Leon ordered, and cut apart a mass of darkness right on front of him. He ignored his injuries, as so did everyone else. They had to make it through or else they would never make it at all. If they had to wait again, the Heartless would become too many to beat. Now was their only chance to save Hollow Bastion.

Behind them was a massive mass of Heartless approaching. "Blizzaga!" Aerith was at her limit. While Leon and Cloud freed the way up ahead, Tifa and Cid were responsible for their flanks. Their back was totally open, and they were moving more slowly than they had intended. The situation was becoming worse every second. Aerith cast another spell of Blizzaga magic, destroying vast quantities of Heartless. Weren't they at the center yet?

More trouble was coming—unexpected trouble. Right in front of them a Darkside stepped in their path, blocking their way. Going around was suicide. They didn't even know which streets were still intact.

"Tifa, Keep going, Cloud, Cid and I will keep this one busy. You have to make it to the center. Go!" Leon yelled, using magic on his sword almost instantaneously and rushing towards the Darkside together with Cloud to cut apart its legs.

Cid was throwing explosives like a madman, and Leon had to withdraw for a moment when the Darkside got engulfed in a explosion. The shock wave of the dynamite almost knocked Naminè over, forcing Kairi to hold her.

"Come on!" Kairi didn't waste any time, nor did Tifa. Aerith was doing her best to keep their protection spells up, but she was worried about Leon, Cloud, and Cid. Would they stand against a Darkside? They had to. Even if they closed the gate, the Heartless wouldn't just vanish. They still had to exterminate every single one of them. It didn't seem like work they could finish.

Tifa was exhausted, wheezing and bleeding from several cuts and scratches. Her legs didn't want to carry her much further, but she forced herself to go on. It was a continuous fight. There was no break, she had literally to smash through waves of Heartless. But finally, there it was, the corner towards the center.

Buildings were towering to both sides, so they couldn't see how bad the situation was. A Keyblade could work from a distance, so the roofs were a safer place to be.

"Jump!" Tifa stretched out her arms. Naminè wasn't sure about this, but Kairi already followed Tifa's order and she too, jumped on Tifa's arm. The force of motion was so strong that she almost passed out when Tifa acted as catapult and shot them on top of the building. "Now it's up to them."

Kairi was as pale as paper. The center of the district wasn't even a place of this world anymore. Two…three Darksides were just waiting for them. It was hopeless to take the time to close the portal if they were attacked by three of these giants at once. The first one had already noticed them—noticed the Keyblade. His black paw was reaching for the girls when something hit it. A massive energy beam flew right through it, impacting the Darkside behind, and the following explosion caused Kairi to take cover with Naminè.

"That was an Ultima, wasn't it?" Naminé asked. Aerith couldn't possibly have the power to cast another after all of this. What was she doing? Kairi nodded and looked around. It was their chance. The third Darkside was confused and the other two were on the ground, regenerating.

"Listen. Concentrate on the hole. Imagine it is a lock that snapped open. We need to close it. Monochrome was my Keyblade before, so we should be at least a bit synchronous. Now!" Kairi directed Oathkeeper at the huge black hole in the ground.

For seconds, nothing happened. She held it back. Monochrome joined Oathkeeper seconds later, and two rays of light shot through the darkness, impacting the gate. Closing a gate forcefully was extremely painful, Kairi knew that from the past. Holding Naminè tightly, she pulled her so close that they were standing as a unit. "Endure it!" Kairi pressed out between gritted teeth.

Slowly but surely, the portal was closing. But they weren't fast enough. The Darkside closest to them had finished regenerating and was about to attack them. If they canceled out now, they were done for. They wouldn't get another chance.

"Dammit!" Kairi yelled, closing her eyes. Something crashed, and the ground shook. But there was no pain. Opening her eyes, Kairi couldn't believe it. "Tifa!"

It was almost breaking her legs, and her arms were about to give in. She could only hold this for a while longer. She was past her limit. The pain of bones slowly breaking apart almost made her pass out. But she had to withstand it. Aerith was right behind her, kneeling on the ground, spitting blood. She had ignored her body's warnings and had used another Ultima. Her face was distorted in pain and Tifa seemed no better.

"Hurry!" she yelled, holding back the giant paw of the Darkside. The other paw was coming, and it would undeniably crush them if they didn't get away first.

Something hit the Darkside; its left arm fell to the ground. Amidst the darkness was Cloud, going completely out of control. As he slashing uncontrollably at anything and everything, the massive Heartless took massive damage. Another Darkside, the other one that had gotten caught up in the Ultima, was approaching. Just a little more. A little more time!

"Circle of Fates!" Leon was standing on the ground, surrounded by Heartless, creating a wave of fire and destruction that was burning away the legs of the second Darkside. It fell to the ground yet again, too wounded to get up. Heartless were jumping on him from all sides, and there was barely enough time to take care of whatever attacked him before two of its kind took it's place. He had to escape to higher ground.

The gate had shrunk considerably in size. It was a matter of seconds until it was closed. Blood was running from both Kairi's and Naminè's arms and foreheads. The pain was literally overwhelming. Kairi had a bad feeling and looked behind for a second. From their back, three more Darksides were approaching.

This was the end. Even if they finished this, there was no way left to escape. Surrounded by Heartless from all sides, exhausted and injured, no one had enough energy left to make their way back out.

With a hissing sound, the gate closed, and Kairi fell face first on the ground. Naminè sunk on her knees, unable to stand up. The situation was hopeless. How would they get out of this? Was this the end? Had they survived up until now just to be destroyed in a invasion of the Heartless? No. No! There was a way after all! Kairi remembered something important.

A Keyblade could open and close any lock.

Standing up, her whole body shaking and trembling, Kairi looked at Naminè. "Help me!"

Naminè blindly followed her command, managing to stand up, and waited for further instructions.

"Cross Monochrome with Oathkeeper. This place is more of a hoard of darkness than in our world. We should be able to open a gateway here." With a nod, Naminè crossed her Keyblade in midair with Kairi's, waiting for something to happen.

Leon had reached higher ground, the roof next to the one Kairi and the others were on. They had to get out of here, but even he lacked a plan. He hadn't thought that it would be this severe to just close the gate, that the number of Heartless was this huge. It was his failure to have miscalculated this badly. He needed to get at least Kairi and Naminè to safety. They were the Keybladers. As he jumped over to the other roof, he saw the incredible.

In front of Kairi and Naminè had opened up a small portal, barely half the size of a normal one. It was big enough to get a human through, and it was their only chance. Thank God it was ground level. Pulling Aerith with her, Kairi managed to enter the portal. Naminè followed her inside.

"Tifa!" Kairi shouted. The fighter was down on her knees, unable to hold the giant paw any longer. It would crush her any second. In the second her arms gave in, something violently pulled on her left arm causing an intense wave of pain.

Leon had just made it past her and had pulled her with him, most likely breaking her arm. With a desperate jump, they made it into the portal.

"Where are Cid and Cloud?!" Kairi yelled.

"Cid escaped when he ran out of explosives earlier. Cloud…he won't come. Close the portal." Leon was heavily injured. They weren't out of danger yet. As long as the portal was open, the Heartless could follow them.

"Fira!" Directing his gunblade out of the portal, Leon shot a fireball right upwards. It exploded a good thirty feet over the barrier, clearly visible for everyone in the area. "They will raise the barrier again. We need to get out of here, _now!_" Leon commanded.

Kairi directed Oathkeeper at the portal and closed it just seconds before the first Darkside crushed the entire building they had been standing on.

The path was icy, but it was a welcome difference from the cold of the battle with the Heartless. "The barrier won't hold the Darksides. No one can take them on now. We need to torch the entire place. Thank God the district was still under construction…" Leon said, lying on his back.

"We need…to get out of here…" Kairi pressed out. She felt sick. Locking such a huge gate both put a great deal mental and physical pain on a Keyblader. "Naminè, are you…no, you can't be okay. How are you feeling, can you stand?" Kairi managed to walk over to Naminè. Just as she reached the blond girl, the magician started to crawl to the edge of the path to vomit. Kneeling right beside her, Kairi petted her head.

Aerith had fallen unconscious on the rooftop after she had spat blood a few times. She would be bound in bed for some time. Tifa was lying on her back, trembling with pain. Her left leg was clearly broken. Taking a long strap of leather from her top, she tried to fix it up at least a bit. She had lost most of her feeling in her arms, but they didn't seem to be broken.

"You all did well…but Kairi is right, we need to get out of here." Leon stood up, unstable on his own legs and still bleeding from countless wounds. He needed medical attention right away. "Kairi, can you help Naminè? Tifa, I will carry Aerith. You can lean on me." Leon picked up the pink-clad woman and groaned in pain. Tifa declined Leon's offer and instead borrowed Kairi's Keyblade. Kairi had to concentrate only a little to keep it in its shape even in the hands of someone else. But using Oathkeeper as crutch…

Kairi carried Naminè on her back. After vomiting and spitting some blood, Naminè had passed out. It was the first time she had to do something like this. Kairi was more used to the physical pain so it was not surprising Naminè reacted the way she did. "It would've been easier if Olette had been here…" Kairi uttered. "I would be even grateful for Yuffie to be here now."

Kairi sighed. It made her remember what happened before. She still didn't want to lose Olette.

---Valiant Hearts---

When the gate near the canyon opened, several people were waiting for them. Everyone was given immediate medical treatment, and Tifa was taken away to the hospital. Aerith was being checked by Rydia, who was the most potent magician in the healing arts in Hollow Bastion after Aerith. The magician seemed okay, but Rydia said that she would be unable to use any magic for a while. A little more, and the strain on her body would've caused permanent damage.

Kairi and Naminè received first aid and Naminè was also checked by Rydia but there was no permanent damage. Happy to hear it, Kairi held on to the blond girl, placing her head on her lap, and finally letting go of her battle mood. She had taken more damage than Naminè, but she felt at ease that the magician was out of danger.

It was the same with Tifa and Aerith. Opening her eyes for just a little bit, Naminè reached out her hands to Kairi's face, trying to say something. The taste of vomit and blood still in her mouth, Naminè was thankful for the water bottle Kairi handed her. She took a big gulp, then coughed up most of it and spat it on the ground.

"Thanks…" Naminè said, and closed her eyes again.

Leon had lost a lot of blood, but after he had received first aid, he seemed to be mostly fine. He wouldn't be able to fight for the next hours, though. But he was needed. They had to decide what to do about the district infested with Heartless. The Darksides had been sighted slowly making their way to the border, destroying everything in their way. There were eight in total.

"Torch the whole place. Burn it to the ground. Tell Cid he has authorization to use whatever he wants. I give him level three administration for this operation," Leon said to a guy with a massive red hairdo who slowly walked away to where Cid was resting.

Walking over to Kairi, he sat down on the wall next to them. "This whole mess…I can only conclude this genie guy is behind it. Once Olette is back and you two have recovered, we're sending you to Agrabah. Yuffie will come with you. She is the only one of us who isn't injured and she will be useful. If his influence has already reached this far, we won't have to worry about the noise one non-Keyblader will cause to another world."

Without waiting for an answer, Leon left, slowly walking towards a bigger tent that served as center of command right now.

---Valiant Hearts---

Over an hour later, Naminè finally came to when she felt the sensation of water running over her body. Opening her eyes, she found herself sitting in the bathtub, naked, being showered by Kairi, who was being kind of clumsy with her eyes closed. "What are you doing?" Naminé blurted out.

Kairi stopped in her motions and waited for a second. "I already showered and I didn't want you to sleep like this. You were covered with blood and sweat. And, well…"

It made Naminé remember the excruciating pain when closing the gate of darkness. "Thanks." Taking the shower head from Kairi, Naminé finished what the redhead had begun.

Kairi waited for another moment and then left. "A towel is hanging on the edge."

After closing the door of the bathroom, Kairi sank to the ground. She felt exhausted, much more so than she had the day before. It had been a long night and morning. She could still hear bombs and explosives impacting and exploding in the district that was quite a bit away from her house. Cid was doing his job properly. More than eighty prefects of the district had been turned to nothing but ash and rubble. Once they finished the bombardment, a militia troop would take care of the rest.

Everyone was licking their wounds. The militia had done their best, but there had been a few causalities but thankfully no fatalities. Thanks to everyone, they had somehow overcome this crisis. But if this really was Jafar's doing…there would be no end to this until they were all dead. His thirst for vengeance must be burning hot. They had been lucky this time, but what if the next attack started in the middle of the civilian district? Or the industrial district? There would be countless innocent victims.

Even though Naminè was right there, in the room behind her, Kairi missed Olette. She would've been a great help and she also missed her as friend. Would they ever get along again? Or would things stay this way now? "Olette…" Resting her head on her knees, waiting for Naminè to finish bathing, Kairi fell deep in thought.

Not so long ago, Olette had confessed to her and she had turned her down. Shortly after, she was starting to fall for Naminè. If Olette had taken the same stance Naminè did, would've things have been different?

"At least today would've been different…" Kairi whispered to herself and looked up.

Inside the room, Naminè was hissing in pain from the hot water. She had several cuts and scratches, mostly from the reckless act of closing the portal of darkness forcefully. All of this had given her a good idea of how hard this life must've been for Kairi. From what Naminè knew, before Olette and she arrived, Kairi had shouldered this harsh role alone. The others could only help so much. They weren't Keybladers. If this was how a Keyblader lived, Naminè was a bit scared of going on like this. Kairi almost died once, and now they only had narrowly escaped certain doom. Did she really want to carry on like this?

"What am I thinking…?" Naminè shook her head to make these thoughts go away. She loved Kairi and would never leave her. Even if it meant to continuing to expose herself to danger like today. It wasn't much of a choice for her. Naminè would not leave Kairi.

---Valiant Hearts---

"You can't expect me to stay in the hospital if Aerith is in that condition, Rydia."

Tifa had received treatment in the hospital and she was walking on crutches, but she wouldn't lie down. Aerith had been brought home because she had no physical injuries, and no hospital could help with the mental exhaustion of a magician.

"Don't try to stop me, please." Tifa looked at the ground. The green-haired magician was supposed to look after the two Keybladers and Aerith for the next few days, and thinking Tifa would probably cause a ruckus if she declined, Rydia let Tifa pass. "Thanks."

The pain was making her grit her teeth. Her leg had only been put in plaster and it was really exhausting to even walk. But she wanted to see Aerith, to check if she was okay. She blamed herself for letting the magician go too far. If she hadn't been so reckless, Aerith wouldn't have needed to use a powerful spell to heal her.

Finally reaching the upper floor of her house, Tifa found Kairi sitting on the ground, next to the bathroom door. She could hear water rushing.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked. There was an awkward moment of silence until Kairi nodded. Everyone knew that they weren't okay. They had seen death and everyone had gone past their limits. Some had taken worse damage than others, but they all were pretty down.

"How is Naminè? That's her in the bath, right?" Tifa knew that it couldn't be Aerith, but she couldn't resist getting her hope a little bit up.

"I think she is fine. She took it pretty hard, though, just like I did the first time around." Kairi was just starting to understand now what Naminè must be feeling. Kairi remembered that time when she wanted to throw all of this away, run away, stop being a Keyblader. She had almost died back then when she had forcefully closed the portal in Neverland. Naminè must be going through the same right now.

"Tifa…are you all right? You look…really bad." Kairi knew Tifa pretty well by now. She had always liked Aerith more, but she knew the fighter well enough to know that she was blaming herself for what happened to Aerith. "It's not your fault. If not for Aerith's magic, we would be all dead now. And I have to thank you, too. If you hadn't stopped the Darkside…"

Kairi stopped. They both knew that there had been no other way in that situation. The Keyblade was not almighty, nor were they. No matter how strong one is, if one is alone against an army, one will lose. "We left Cloud back there. I wonder what happened to him…" Kairi added.

"He'll be fine. He's pulled through worse, believe me," Tifa said, and took a deep breath as she faced the door that led to the bedroom she shared with Aerith. She opened the door and stepped half inside, where she stopped for a moment. "Stay with Naminè. Nobody wants to be alone, least of all after something like this." Tifa closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. Aerith was lying on it, still fully dressed with dirt and bloodstains all over her clothes. Physically, she really seemed fine, but…

Sitting on the bed, Tifa threw the crutches away, angry with herself. She knew it was wrong to blame herself, but… "Dammit, why is it always you who has to suffer?" With tears in her eyes, Tifa leaned down, moved a strand of brown hair from Aerith's forehead, and gently kissed her. No reaction. Stressed out and at her limit, in pain and with all of her stained clothes still on, Tifa lay down next to her lover, held her hands, and fell asleep in seconds. It had been too long of a day.

"Kairi?" Naminè had left the bathroom. The blood was all gone, but the numerous scratches and cuts were still there. Even though they had stopped bleeding, they hurt. Kairi seemed to have forgotten or was just too tired to give her new clothes, so she was wearing a long towel. Kairi herself was just wearing a long shirt she had pulled from her drawers.

"Kairi, are you awake? Don't sleep here, you'll catch a cold." Naminè knelt down, checking if Kairi was really sleeping.

"I'm sorry…" Kairi uttered, and averted her eyes when Naminè got down to look at her face to face. "It's my fault you have to go through all this. I…would understand if you want to quit but…I need you. I need you, Naminè. Don't go away." Kairi's voice was watery as if she were about to cry.

Naminè moved in closer, forcing Kairi to look at her. "I will never leave you," the blond girl said, kissing the redhead on the cheek. "Never. I'm afraid of being a Keyblader. But I'm even more scared of losing you. I want to be with you." Naminè smiled despite everything that had happened. She always smiled for Kairi.

Choking down her tears, Kairi leaned her own forehead on Naminé's. "I…thanks. Thank you," was the only thing she could say. There had been so much she wanted to say to Naminè if she wanted to stop. Wanted to go away. To run away from cruel fate. But she was strong. Was it because of Naminè that she could think about tomorrow and not worry what would happen?

"Let's go to sleep. I'm…really tired." Naminé said, and stood up, holding her hand out for Kairi to take. With a faint smile, the girl in the long shirt took the offer and walked back to her room together with Naminè. Switching from towel to a long shirt, Naminè soon joined the redhead in her bed.

"I love you," Naminè said before she fell asleep. With a relieved expression, Kairi rolled over, facing the blond girl, and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you too."

---Valiant Hearts---

Hours later, the bombardment was finally finished. The district and everything surrounding it was covered in soot and dirt. It was a big pile of rubble now. A monument of destruction. They all had underestimate the Heartless, thought they were safe in Hollow Bastion. How wrong they had been. It really was true—Power led to Arrogance. Arrogance to Decadence. Decadence to Destruction.

Cid was exhausted beyond his limits. He and Leon were sitting near the tent that had been transformed into the center of command for the time being. The Heartless were gone now, and so was the district. Cid had burned it down literally to the ground. Nothing but ash and unidentifiable charred rubbish remained. The smoke of the fire had risen high enough to be seen from miles away. It would take a long time to fix this place.

"Not counting us and the Keybladers, we have 117 wounded. So many…" Leon said. For over an hour he had taken reports and given out orders. He was holding his forehead, distressed. What pained him more than his injuries was his feeling of guilt. Was this all his fault? Had he miscalculated along the way? Screw up? He had sworn to never lose someone important to him again. But now his past had caught up with him. People were getting injured all the time. They had to fight even though it was not their place to do so. And he could do nothing to stop it. He felt so powerless. It was agonizing.

"I don't even want to think about how much this will cost us," Cid added and looked at the enormous smoke cloud that stretched out easily a hundred and fifty feet in the sky. His defense system had proven itself to be completely useless. It was completely powerless against an attack of this magnitude. Even he was depressed about this.

---Valiant Hearts---

"What…happened here?" Olette stood motionless in front of the gigantic pile of rubble. They had seen the gigantic black cloud rising from Hollow Bastion when they had still been miles away. Now they saw firsthand what caused the cloud. The barrier was gone, and in front of them was a massive pile of rubble. People were working on carrying stone fragments and charred rubbish away in attempts to clean up the place. Every other corner had people on it—some injured, some merely exhausted beyond their limits. It was the aftermath of a battle that had resulted in a hollow victory.

After a few minutes of looking around, Olette and Yuffie finally found Leon, who was still giving out orders. He looked old and stretched, like he had been awake for days.

"Leon! What in the world happened here?" Yuffie blurted out while Olette was unable to get out a word. They had only been away for roughly three days!

"The Heartless attacked us. We managed to hold them off, but you yourself can see the cost that came with it. Everyone is at their limit. We really could've used your help." Leon added the last remark after a short pause.

Suddenly, Olette was trembling. This was done by the Heartless? This?! She had known that they were dangerous, but this was beyond anything she had ever imagined. This was the destruction a war held, something she only knew from books. Now that she was aware of it, she could smell it. The stench of blood, of fire. The stench of a battlefield. It instantly made her throw up and she fell on her knees. After a few pats on the back from Yuffie, Olette was wide awake. Now that disgust had passed, fear and anxiety took possession of her.

"What about the others? Is everyone okay? Is Kairi okay?"

Shocked, Olette took a step back. What if…they were gone? She had never settled things with Kairi and now that she saw all this, she was aware of just how dangerous their lives, their destinies were. Feeling a tight knot in her chest, Olette impatiently waited for an answer. Leon looked at her. He was tired. "Tifa has a broken leg. I don't know the details, but Aerith seems to be in a coma or something. Kairi and Naminè…" Leon made a pause. They had been forced to close the gate forcefully. From the past, he knew how much strain it put on their bodies. And this portal had been huge. "I think they are fine. They should be at home. They should be sleeping."

Olette was relieved. Everyone was alive. But now something different was occupying her mind. Why had she been so afraid that Kairi was gone? Olette felt depressed. She had been sure she was through with this. Yuffie looked at her with a worried expression.

"Let's go home."

With a nod, Yuffie laid an arm around Olette's shoulders. With worried faces, they left.

The black smoke was not only clouding the sky, but also the mood of the entire town. People were afraid and scared. Nobody wanted to leave their house.

In the end, everyone was just human. Nobody could've been able to predict this tragedy. But people still blamed themselves, some for the pain of others, some for their own failures, and some for both. Hollow Bastion had seen a dark, dark night, and an even darker day. Everyone was hoping that something like this would never happen again.

End of Chapter XIX


	20. So Long Ago – Alone with Despair

Author Note: I strongly suggest reading the soon-to-be-released Special "Bloodstained Hollows - Road of the Defeated" after this chapter.

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX

_So Long Ago – Alone With Despair_

Two days had passed since the Heartless attacked Hollow Bastion. Kairi had been treated multiple times by Rydia. Naminé and Aerith had woken up, but they were still suffering from massive headaches and exhaustion. Tifa was still bedridden, and even though she could spend most of her time with Aerith this way, she was still quite moody.

Kairi was sitting in the living room, _trying_ to read a book, but it was nearly impossible with all the noise inside her head. A lot of things were going through her mind and she wasn't exactly in the condition to handle any of them. The worst was that she knew she had to go and see Olette and clear things between them before the next mission came. And according to Leon, that would be soon.

"Rydia, I'm going out for a while. If Naminé asks where I am, tell her I'll be back soon," Kairi told the green-haired woman who was standing in the kitchen, trying to cook. She made amazing coffee, but she was a terrible cook.

"Okay. Will you be back for dinner? I'm making rice omelet. I got a recipe from Yuffie the other day and wanted to try it out." Rydia was a bright woman, but when it came to her shortcomings, namely cooking, she was just as naïve as Naminé was, if not even more so. Other than that, she was a very capable woman and a really powerful sorceress.

Looking at the…battlefield that was the kitchen, Kairi decided that Yuffie's recipe combined with Rydia's cooking skills might be enough to kill a zombie. She waved her hand, smiled for a second and left, unable to tell the nice girl that her food was almost always inedible.

Standing outside, fresh air confronted her and cleared her thoughts somewhat. As she looked in the direction of the destroyed district, she sighed. What if such an attack happened again? Next time they might not be this lucky. They needed all the manpower they could get and Olette was a important asset to the group. For the girls to let their personal affairs get in the way and influence their teamwork negatively was unacceptable. It could cost lives the next time.

As Kairi walked down the street to Yuffie's apartment, a dozen possible scenarios shot through her mind, all likely and all without a nice outcome for her. Kairi knew Olette was angry about her being with Naminé so shortly after she had rejected both of them, but what could she do? Break up with Naminé just so Olette could feel better? Naminé wouldn't be too happy about such a turn of events. Besides, Olette was now with Yuffie, and some time had passed. Things could go back to the way they were now.

"Kairi?"

Instantly drawn back to reality, Kairi looked up. Olette was standing there right before her, looking rather confused at the sudden encounter. "Shouldn't you be resting? Didn't you get injured?"

"I didn't know you were so worried about me," Kairi answered in honest surprise.

"I…well, I think it's time to talk." Looking at the ground, the brunette knew they couldn't continue like this. She didn't hate Kairi, and it made no sense to keep being angry and hurt about what happened. "Should we go to that one place?"

With a look at Kairi's legs, covered in bandages, Olette quickly took her comment back. "Never mind. How about The Kupo, that new café Stilzkin opened?"

"I'm not an invalid, Olette. But The Kupo sounds good," Kairi replied and stood there, rooted to the ground for a few seconds. Both thought the other would take the first step. Kairi finally opened her mouth, closed it without saying anything, and walked in front of the brunette.

It was so awkward to talk to her after everything that had happened. And what should she say? Kairi knew she tended to over-analyze, and that Olette often acted on her emotions. They were like water and oil. But not so long in the past, Kairi had felt…differently about her. Right now, even though it was awkward, Kairi could see Olette not only as Keyblader or as a teammate but also as a friend she wanted back, and…

Kairi opened the door to the small café that was owned by Stilzkin, a rich Moogle, and that employed solely Moogles of all kinds. A cute little Moogle who introduced himself as Momo led them to a table and asked them for their orders.

Kairi let her eyes fly over the card and chose a light cappuccino that was named Kuporachino. Olette simply ordered black coffee, the strongest they had, and sighed. Now that the Moogle was gone and they had ordered, there was only one thing left to do.

"Can you start? I'm terrible at these things…" Olette said, and averted her eyes, fixating them on the table. She didn't feel so well. She hadn't spoken with Yuffie at all since they'd gotten back, and only came back to Yuffie's to sleep. What happened nagged at her consciousness, and nothing anyone said helped. She felt guilty for not being there.

"And I'm _not_ terrible, right. But I'll start…I…well." Taking a deep breath, Kairi gathered all of her courage. She needed it for what she wanted to say. This was harder than fighting the Heartless or the Organization. She couldn't just analyze the target and form a strategy. She had to be honest and talk.

"I want us to be friends again," Kairi said, and before Olette could say anything, she lifted her hand and stopped the brunette. "Listen, I really do. I know you're angry about…Naminé and me. I admit, it's my fault. It just…happened. I don't know if it would've been the same if you had come to me instead of Naminé, but I think so. Maybe…I just needed to be cornered to accept that I can't hide from myself forever. I still feel guilty for what happened. Will you…forgive me?" Kairi felt sick after Olette kept silent when she finished her little speech. She had improvised, said what she thought, felt.

"You don't change, do you? But…" Olette said and took a sip from the freshly made coffee another Moogle had just brought up to them. "You're right. I want…to be your friend again. I hate being away from Naminé like this too."

Olette hadn't felt this good since they'd gotten back. For the first time since she had seen that big dark cloud covering the skies on her way back, she smiled. That was a lot easier than she had thought. And Kairi seemed happy too.

"I also wanted to say…I'm sorry. That I wasn't there. I know that I now have a duty. I'm a Keyblader now. I'd hate to think it's my fault everything happened like that." Olette took another sip of her coffee, her guts feeling even hotter than the black liquid. What if Kairi held her responsible for the mess?

"Even if you had been there, the only thing that would have changed is that Naminé and I would have gotten off a bit easier. But you'd be injured too then. Just…just be there the next time. I feel a lot safer with you covering my back," Kairi answered. She took a large gulp of her Kuporachino.

"I will. Um…how…is Naminé doing?" Olette had missed the blond girl so much that she was eager to know when she could talk to her again. Ever since the events in Port Royal, she had felt a bit differently about Naminé. Not in a romantic way, but…they were closer than just good friends.

"Probably still sleeping. She is fine, but the magic exhaustion was severe. She'll have a headache at least for a few days." Kairi looked out the window. Had it always been this easy to talk to people? Had she changed over the past few weeks? Changed due to Naminé and Olette?

"I hope she'll be better soon. Listen, I am really—"

Kairi cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "No matter how guilty you feel, it's in the past now. I'm happy we're not fighting anymore, so please, don't succumb to this feeling of guilt. I know what it feels like. Everything seems to be your fault. You think you could have made a difference. The sad truth is, one person alone makes only so much difference, even a Keyblader. Nobody thinks it's your fault. Nobody could have known the Heartless would attack us," Kairi said, completely emotionless, fully knowing how hard it might sound. She had experienced this in the past, when she had lost yet another world to the Heartless.

"But—"

Kairi stopped her with a cold glare.

"I see. Thanks. I think…I feel a little bit better." Olette emptied her coffee and then noticed something she should have thought about long ago.

"Kairi…do you have any money on you?" Olette was so embarrassed that she blushed. But she went from being embarrassed to panicked when Kairi widened her eyes and whispered that she thought Olette would have some money on _her_.

There they sat, without money to pay for their drinks.

Two hours, and many, many angry "kupos" later, the two girls left the shop, exhausted and not in the best mood.

"I can't believe they made us wash cups for two hours. We only had coffee!" Olette complained, rubbing her wrist. Her hands were sore and her back was killing her. Man, those Moogles could get really angry. Olette feared that the pompom of one of the kitchen helpers might explode when she had dropped a cup and it shattered all over the place.

Kairi was quiet for the longer part of the way back to the crossroads between the places they were staying at.

"It's good to…talk again to you. Listen, I was—" Olette almost stumbled over her own words.

"We both had a lot to deal with. Honestly, I'd like to forget about this. I'm happy you're talking to me again. Leon will send us on the next mission soon and I want you to brief me on your current skills. I will do the same for Naminé and me. I'm still our tactical coordinator and I need to know those things. Tomorrow, ten o'clock at the canyon?" Kairi wanted to be prepared for the next mission. She didn't want another catastrophe like the one with the man from the Organization from before.

"Still the over-analyzing thinker, are you? Some things never change. Okay, I'll be there. I, uh, might bring Yuffie along." Olette said it without thinking. Why? She had no intention of bringing Yuffie to a training session, nor would the black-haired girl have any interest in that.

Kairi remained silent for a few seconds and then sighed. "Okay." Was Olette really going to bring Yuffie along? If not, why did she say so? Just to tease her or to see how she'd react?

Turning around again, the brunette was already gone. She didn't want them to argue again. She would apologize tomorrow to her. It was barely evening, but she felt tired. Well, she still wasn't fully recovered.

After heading back home, Kairi spent the rest of the day next to Naminé, who told her a new story. She had taken the next step and instead of just reading, she was now sometimes telling her own stories, and even drew pictures of them sometimes.

Nothing significant happened for the rest of the day, except that Rydia virtually exploded a pot. Kairi was making dinner when the sun finally went down and nightfall came.

"You know, Rydia, I think Tifa has a secret crush on you. She'd never admit it, though. But watch out. You better not take a shower here." Naminé was teasing the green-haired woman for fun.

"Why? You don't think she'd really…I mean, Aerith is still here and all." Rydia seemed sort of threatened by that thought.

"Aerith is too tired for 'anything'. I can imagine it—you standing in the shower and then from behind, two large hands suddenly grab your—" Naminé had quite the colorful fantasy. To accompany her story, she made grabbing moves with her hands.

Covering her chest and blushing quite deeply, Rydia looked over her shoulder if Kairi was listening in. "I-I don't swing that way! She wouldn't…_really_…" Rydia couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Oh, I don't know. Tifa is always full of energy, and being forced to lie around doing nothing…" Naminé grinned widely and leaned forward as if to whisper something to Rydia. "I think she has a thing or two for sorceresses, especially if they are a bit smaller than her. In _many_ ways." Naminé had to force herself not to laugh when she saw Rydia's shocked face.

"You're kidding. Aren't you? Right? _Right?!_" Rydia was quite nervous and almost lost all poise when Kairi interrupted.

"I think Tifa asked for you earlier, Rydia. She didn't want me to tell you why, but she seemed really quirky about it." Kairi had obviously listened to the whole thing. Poor Rydia was so gullible.

"I think I'm gonna go home." Rydia was as pale as a ghost and almost tripped on her way to the door.

Kairi found it rather amusing to see how Rydia, the only straight woman in the house, reacted to those "threats."

By the time the clock hit ten, Kairi was almost asleep. Almost. She still shared her bed with Naminé. She had thought about it. If this kept going on, why not have Naminé move into her room? She didn't own many things so there was enough space for the two of them. It was rather cramped in the bed, but apparently only Kairi minded that. Naminé loved to cuddle up to the redhead and sleep like that, her head resting on Kairi's chest.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," Naminé whispered and her hand looked for Kairi's, their fingers entwining with each other's.

"Time never stands still. We're getting older too." Kairi said, but still smiled. She enjoyed these moments of absolute peace and happiness together with Naminé.

"I know. But I still wish we could." Naminé closed her eyes and fell silent. She had this rather annoying habit of falling asleep in the middle of a conversation.

"Silly," Kairi whispered back, and petted the blonde's head. The stars out there seemed to shine just for the two of them. And with a last quiet sigh, Kairi fell asleep too.

---Valiant Hearts---

The next day only consisted of resting and preparing mentally for what was to come soon. Kairi was up and returned to what she did best—keeping her mind occupied with her destiny. Olette came over, and even though Kairi had expected her to bring Yuffie with her, she was alone. Naminé was supposed to stay in bed, but Kairi wanted her to hear everything, so she brought the blond girl into the living room not long before Olette was supposed to show up. It was not that she was embarrassed about having Naminé in her room. She just didn't want Olette to think she was showing off their relationship to her.

Olette and Naminé acted like they were glued together. They hadn't really seen or talked to each other in some time, and it was very obvious that they were happy to be back together as friends. Kairi sat comfortably on a chair across from the table while Olette told her the results of her training, where her limits were. Kairi had a lot to discuss, such as the use of Naminé's magic. Friendly fire had become a hot topic, simply because Naminé now had the power to use very high-level magic but not the strength to control it.

"I know that saying things like, 'I forbid you from using this and that under any circumstances' is foolish. I remember the feeling when we faced that member of the Organization. That was beyond anything I've ever experienced. Such a powerful killing intent…it reminded me of Ansem. Against such foes…we never know what we'll have to resort to, so I'd like to go over some advanced tactics with you two."

Even though the girls sighed, Kairi continued. They would now work in formations, but only very few to start with. Olette and Naminé instantly objected to Kairi's names of the formations, but their objections were simply ignored.

One formation was meant to conserve Naminé's magical power. Olette and Kairi would provide protection for the magician. Another was for all-out combat, where the roles were equal, but Naminé would be using powerful magics while the other two stayed in close range, protecting her.

After a good two hours of explaining things and lots of questions, objections and nonsense, the heads of the three girls were smoking. It was almost time for dinner and Rydia had told Kairi that she couldn't find someone to fill in for her at the shop, so they had to cook themselves.

"I'm gonna make dinner now. Olette, are you staying?" Kairi had stood up and was already halfway over to the kitchen.

"No, Yuffie hates eating alone and I really should talk to her." With a sad expression, Olette stood up, petted Naminé's head one last time, and left without another word.

---Valiant Hearts---

Back at Yuffie's apartment, Olette was in a completely different mood from before. She knew that every mission was dangerous, and the next one would be especially hard on her. She only had one meeting with Kairi about general tactics and she knew little about what Naminé and Kairi could do now. She had to be prepared. In many ways.

"Did something good happen? You look really happy." Yuffie sat across the table and looked at a completely changed Olette.

"Yeah. I talked with Kairi and made up with her. And…Yuffie, I'm sorry I've been so distant the last few days, but I've had a lot of stuff to think about. It won't happen again." Olette finished her food, stood up and stopped when she was standing behind Yuffie.

"It's about time you got better. I thought I'd die from lack of fun any day now. You were like a zombie. Including your face." Yuffie teased the brunette and immediately saw her sulk.

"I met with Leon today. He said I should tell you the next mission starts tomorrow and that you should prepare yourself. I'm really pissed off that you're gone the moment you're better," Yuffie said, but she really didn't feel pissed off at all.

"Tomorrow? Sometimes I think Leon is really a Heartless," Olette said, and hugged Yuffie from behind, kissing her on the cheek.

"That…was a terrible pun…" Yuffie rolled her eyes and gave Olette a grim look. "Never do that again. You're a terrible, terrible comedian." Looking to the side, Yuffie changed the kiss on the cheek into a full kiss. She felt a bit weird kissing her like this after the last few days, but that was only a temporarily feeling.

"Look who's talking. Any audience would lynch _you_." Olette mocked her and let go, looking for a clock. Yuffie's apartment was as chaotic as ever and it took her a minute to find a working one. "It's past ten. I need to get up early tomorrow. Wanna go to bed? And I mean sleeping, not 'to bed'." Olette gave Yuffie a glare that made it clear she was serious.

With a shrug, Yuffie followed Olette to the bedroom and undressed on her way. Seeing that, Olette groaned and looked to the ceiling. "I said _sleep__!_"

Yuffie only smiled and put her arms around Olette, pulling her towards the bed.

"I'm so screwed," Olette said and let herself be pulled away.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I know you're not fully healed yet, but chances are that you won't encounter the enemy right away. That's why I can't send anyone else with you. Tifa and Aerith are still out of commission and we need everyone else here in case something comes up. I don't want you three to come back and find that your home is gone." Leon was giving one of his "speeches" again. They were down in the abandoned district that had been an industrial park in the past, but due to technological advances, it was now empty and unused.

Kairi, Naminé and Olette were wrapped in long brown cloaks to protect against the heat of the desert and warm them in the cold nights in case they had to camp out. Beyond that, they were in only their normal clothes. Kairi wore a practical one-piece that allowed freedom, Olette trousers and a shirt to give her maximum mobility, and Naminé a dress that was light and did not distract her.

Their Keyblades summoned, they waited for Leon to give final instructions.

"Your mission is to track down whatever attacked us and eliminate it. If you are unable to do that, come back in three days. Be careful. Contact me if you find anything. If there is no contact after thirty-six hours, I will send Yuffie on a recon to look for you. If she can't detect you in two hours' time, I will have Cid force open the portal and have a search troop look for you. In your case, one world's balance is not as important as the greater goal."

Kairi nodded. She knew that he was right. She did not like how blunt he was being, but he was right. Leon was kind of a superior, a teacher, to her and she believed in him and his ways.

Olette and Naminé stood respectively left and right to Kairi and nodded in synchrony.

"Take care," Leon said, and took a few steps back.

Kairi nodded one last time. "Understood."

Turning around, the redhead pointed Oathkeeper at the gateway to Agrabah. Olette and Naminé followed Kairi's example and directed their blades at the gate as well. Light was suddenly joining, binding together, flowing towards the invisible gateway beyond eye's grasp.

The second the light reached the portal, connected to it, Leon could sense that something had gone wrong. A fraction of a second later, he found himself instinctively taking cover.

The enormous explosion and the following shock wave hit Leon hard enough to nearly knock him out. With a last futile attempt, he crawled behind a wall and looked through the rift at the ground where the girls had stood.

There was nothing there. No blood, no bodies. It seemed untouched. In fact, nothing seemed physically damaged at all. Knowing that, Leon's eyes closed, and he finally lost consciousness.

---Valiant Hearts---

Blinding light. The feeling of being drawn apart, ripped in pieces, put back together differently from before—that process repeated indefinitely, sometimes in the fraction of a second, sometimes seemingly taking forever. Time stood still and flowed uncontrollably at the same time. Space warped, destroyed, reassembled, repaired—just to be destroyed again, just to be repaired again. An endless circle of destruction and insanity.

Infinite pain joined together with immeasurable pleasure, suddenly replaced by sickness, death and rebirth, a chaos of all emotions put together, all lived at once. Passing out, waking up, puking, coughing up blood, laughing, crying, screaming, all at once. The chill of death, the burning passion of life, the adrenaline of danger, the cold of failure.

Futilely reaching out with the Keyblade, something exploded in Kairi's head. Something changed, grabbed her, ripped her apart. Endless pain. Then, nothingness.

When she slowly opened her eyes, Kairi noticed she was lying facedown in sand. She tried to get up, but she was unable to, so she rolled over onto her side and started to throw up whatever was left in her stomach. She felt beyond terrible. Her skin was burning.

Kairi got on her knees and tried to slowly stand up, but she immediately fell down again. What was wrong? She could feel her body and nothing seemed to be broken.

Looking down at herself, Kairi's mind froze for a few seconds. What had happened? She didn't remember being this tall. She looked at her hands, then felt her own body with them. She grabbed at her hair, which was hanging down her back. She was finding it hard to breathe, and her feet hurt. One thousand small things she hadn't noticed before due to the adrenaline were becoming apparent.

"_Oathkeeper!_" Kairi said with an unfamiliar voice, and the white Keyblade appeared in her hand. At least this still worked. "_Blizzard!_" Kairi fired a salve of magic ice at the ground. It was shining, steaming in the heat, but it would do as mirror. Looking in it, she now knew what had happened to her.

"I'm…_older?_"

She was clearly herself—the eye color, hair color, and face structure were the same, but she looked much older than before. As she tried to calm down, the events from when the gateway seemingly exploded and sucked them in were coming back. But before she could get an answer, her body made it clear that this heat was poisonous for her. She coughed up more blood and crawled back to her knees, breathing heavily, almost in a panic.

"What in the world happened?" Kairi asked herself.

Was she in Agrabah? Taking a quick look around, Kairi couldn't tell. There were ruins of buildings all over the place. Red sand, like grainy blood, covered the ground. No wind, no sound. In the sky was a brightly shining red sun. This was clearly not Agrabah, but then…

Standing up, this time fully aware of her longer legs and larger body, Kairi stood without problems and made her way over to one of the larger ruins. Where were the others? She had to find them. But first, she had to do something about herself. Her hair had grown so long that it almost reached her ankles, and it was a huge hindrance. Using Oathkeeper as a means to an end, she grabbed her hair roughly at her shoulders' length and cut it off with one quick swipe. The red hair fell on the ground and remained there. Her fingernails were next. Out of a lack for a better tool, she just bit them off one by one.

Her shoes didn't fit her anymore. Neither did her clothes. Everything was too tight, too small. How much taller had she grown? It was hard to guess, but she was probably the same size as Leon now, and a bit taller than Tifa. It would be suicidal to walk on this hot ground without shoes. But she had to think first.

Taking refuge inside of one of the ruins, Kairi was struck by a strange feeling. Like she had been at this place before.

Thinking of it as superstition, Kairi looked for a room that had no windows. She soon found one and sat down against one of the walls. Even in there it was still hot. Would it get any hotter than this? This area was clearly a desert. When would night come? How long would it last? Kairi needed information.

Taking off her too-small shoes, Kairi rubbed her sore feet. Wearing those shoes would put her at serious risk if she had to engage in a battle. Her only chance was to find other clothes—stuff that whoever lived here had left behind. But first she needed to do something about her toenails. After a few minutes of pulling and some pain, she had reduced the length to no less than normal.

Barefoot, still wearing the too-tight clothes, Kairi looked through every room. The lower levels had vanished into the sand, but luck was with her this time and she found a old drawer in one of the upper rooms that contained some clothes. They were still not exactly her size, but they were a lot better than what she was wearing now. Aware that nobody would come back to take these, Kairi took whatever she could find without remorse and tried a few different sets with minor success.

In the end, there weren't many things that fit. The cloak had not vanished, thankfully. She would recover it as soon as the sun went down. Forced to choose between high heels and knee-high laced boots, she took the boots. The rest of the clothes were sort of mismatched but they were better than nothing. She could not stay here, but who knew if the other two girls were in the same condition and had better or worse luck? Clothes didn't weigh much, she would be able to take them with her.

Ripping a blanket from a dust-plagued bed that was half-claimed by the sand, she threw the rest of the clothes, including her old ones, in it and made it into a round bag, using thick strands of her cut-off hair as cord. Emergency had taught her to make use of everything in dire times.

The laced boots were actually an improvement over her old shoes. She hadn't taken into account how fine the sand in the desert was. It would have gotten into her shoes and sooner or later caused blisters. The boots were a bit tight, but otherwise okay. Since the drawer didn't contain any trousers, she had to go with a skirt, and the longest one barely reached her knees. The set was complete with a tight shirt that would conserve warmth when it got cold, even though Kairi was a tad embarrassed about how much that piece of clothing showed off her now bigger breasts.

By now the sun had made its way almost to the bottom of the horizon. Soon it would be night. Taking whatever wood she could from nearby ruins, Kairi used the small timeframe between day and night where it was not too hot or cold to gather as many things as she could. It would be crazy to attempt to travel the desert at night, so she would have to stay where she was. Even if she did find the others soon or if they found her, they needed a base of operations until they knew what was going on.

With the night came the freezing cold. Kairi chose the room without windows to rest in. After taking the old, hard mattress from the bed near the lower levels of the ruin, she burned a fire in the midst of the room, making the cold endurable. She could only hope that Olette and Naminé were okay.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Hey, where are you touching me?" Olette said, her face as red as a tomato.

She was shivering. It was freezing cold, and even though they had managed to light a fire, they were freezing. There was no cover in sight, and moving in this cold was a terrible idea. Olette had snuggled together with Naminé so closely that they could feel each other's heartbeat. What the hell had happened?

Olette had woken up right next to Naminé, even though she hadn't known that it was Naminé at that point. It took her a few minutes of confusion and pain to notice that her body was different, that she had grown quite a bit. She was a whole head taller than the grown Naminé.

Waking up the unconscious Naminé was not easy, and the blond girl broke out into panic when she didn't recognize Olette. It took them some time to adjust themselves to their situation. While Olette had Naminé cut Olette's hair pretty short, Naminé preferred hers to stay long, having it cut down only from her hips downwards. Now the length came in handy to guard against the cold.

"I wonder what happened to us." Naminé felt terrible. Kairi was nowhere to be seen, she was cold, and they had no idea where they were nor what had happened.

"I only remember…lots of twirls, colors, and a lot of pain. We don't seem to be hurt, although I feel a bit sick," Olette said, and pulled Naminé even closer. She had already gone through this once before, she didn't mind being this close with the blond girl.

"I don't understand what happened to our bodies. If this is another world, why would we look different? I can only think of one explanation and that is that we've aged somehow. But then why…" Olette ruffled her hair and immediately put the combined cloak back where it was. It was well below zero out and the fire and the cloak were the only things preventing the girls from freezing to death. Everything was okay as long as they kept their minds occupied, but if they fell asleep here…

"My dress is terribly tight," Naminé complained.

"That's because of your chest. It's unfair that yours grew so big and mine didn't." Olette sighed. Naminé was sitting directly in front of her. Part of the combined cloak served as a blanket to sit on, since the sand was now ice cold. This close together, with these bodies, Olette felt that sitting this way was different from before. Not…like _that_, but different.

Naminé leaned backwards, and now Olette's chest was pressing against her back. She didn't really mind. These bodies were clearly those of adults, but they really themselves weren't, not in mind.

"That's because you're always running around. They'd only get in the way, right?" Naminé smiled. Olette knew she was smiling even without seeing her. She could sometimes sense how Naminé was feeling when they were close.

"Right. But still…" Olette pretended to sulk for a while. Naminé didn't say anything.

"Do you think Kairi is okay?" It was a question she had been afraid to ask, especially to ask it of Naminé.

"I know she is. But…I wonder if she's also aged this much. Do you think Kairi will like me all grown up?" Naminé answered with a totally straight face and searched for Olette's hand under the cloak.

Olette did not pull her hand back when Naminé took hers and their fingers intertwined. She liked Naminé, and even though she could never love her as a girl, she loved her like a little sister. Up until now, Olette had never really realized how much she really meant to her.

"Tell me…how is it being with Kairi? I know I shouldn't ask this, but…" Olette took a deep breath. Why did she have to bring this up now? Was she really that curious about it?

"I don't think I can really explain it. It's nice. Kairi is really cautious of new things, and you know how long it took to just get her to open up. We do a lot of things, like I draw her, or I tell her about things I read. I love spending time with her. It makes me happy."

"Is she…do you two have…" Olette tried to find the right words without being too embarrassed.

"I'm your friend, Olette. You can ask me anything." Naminé smiled again and stood up. The cold instantly bit their skin, and Olette made a hissing sound from the sudden flood of cold air. It had gotten a little bit warmer under the cloak and now…

When she sat down again, Naminé changed her position. She was now facing Olette, and even though she was quite a bit smaller than Olette, Naminé could almost directly look in her face. The darkness of the night, the starless sky, and the shimmering light of the fire gave her face something noble. For a second, Olette blushed and forgot that it was Naminé, the naïve girl who was head over heels in love with Kairi, who sat there in front of her.

She came even closer. Olette could feel Naminé's body touching hers, both her arms sliding around her back as snuggled up closely to Olette. She totally disregarded the fact that her chest was pressing against the brunette's stomach, her head resting on her chest.

"This way it's warmer," the woman, no, the _girl_ said, and closed her eyes. She was still Naminé. Olette patted her head. Even though they were taller, older now, things had not changed between them. They would always be the same. They loved each other in a way no one else could understand. A pure love like between sisters.

"What's it like being with Yuffie? Are you happy?" Naminé asked out of the blue.

"Yes. I think." Olette could not lie to Naminé. Maybe to Kairi or even Yuffie, but not to her. She would feel guilty of something terrible if she did. And she never wanted to be apart from her again.

"You _think?_" Naminé echoed, and looked up.

Not only she had changed. Olette was very tall now, probably a little bit taller than Tifa or even Leon. She was really muscular for a girl, too. Naminé could feel that there were dimensions of difference between Olette's trained body now and her past form. Her face was now more…reassuring than before. Naminé had trusted her before, but this…it was like her sheer presence was telling her that she was safe. Like Olette was someone Naminé could bet her life on, someone to protect her at all times.

"Since we got back…I was really worried about you two. Things have been really tense between Yuffie and me since. Maybe it's because I'm feeling guilty since I was off having a good time when you all were fighting for your lives. Maybe it's about Kairi. I thought I was over her. I don't know anymore." Olette didn't know why she could tell this to Naminé so easily when it was so hard to admit it to herself in her own thoughts.

"Does Yuffie know? You should tell her," Naminé said, and looked right into Olette's green eyes with her own blue ones.

"I don't want to break her heart. And I think I do like her…but…I just don't know. What use is it to like Kairi if she's with you? I don't want to cause you and your relationship with Kairi any trouble, and I don't want Yuffie to be alone, either." It was easy to say that, but much harder to realize it and Olette knew it. In the end, maybe Naminé was right.

"Why can't you be with me _and_ Kairi?" Naminé really was the one and only person to be able to ask such things with a straight face.

"It just doesn't work that way. I wish there was a 'happy end for everyone' solution, but there isn't." Olette attempted to smile but gave up midways and instead patted the smaller girl's head.

"I believe there is. We just haven't found it yet. And…I think you should tell Yuffie how you feel." Naminé behaved like a pet cat under Olette's petting. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on Olette's chest.

"And you're right, your breasts really didn't grow much." Naminé said in a completely honest tone a second later. She got her hair ruffled for it.

"You can only say that because yours grew so much! I bet Kairi prefers small ones." Olette stuck her tongue out and started to sulk, so obviously pretending that Naminé knew it was fake.

While her own dress was rather tight, Olette had other problems. Her trousers were too short now. They were more like hot pants in comparison to her height now. Her sleeves were too short now too, and the shirt she was wearing resembled a tank top with sleeves. Her shoes were the worst. Naminé's had already been in pieces when she came to, but then again, they weren't made for such a trip anyway. Olette suffered from the too-small size, especially because she had been carrying Naminé, who had been unable to walk barefoot on the hot sand of the desert.

"We need to find Kairi tomorrow. I'll try to use reflect magic to protect us against the sun, but it'll only help a bit. The magic wasn't made for that."

Olette was thankful for any help she could get. She didn't know how much heavier Naminé was now, but it was much easier for her to carry her than before. Maybe it was because of the height difference, maybe just because she was stronger now, having the body of an adult.

"The sun should rise soon. Try not to fall asleep, Naminé," Olette warned her companion. She thought of what else they could talk about to beat some time.

"Tell me more about you and Yuffie."

"Fine. But you'll have to tell me about Kairi in exchange," Olette replied, and pulled Naminé the little bit closer that was still between them.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi knew how to use time efficiently. There was no moon in this world, apparently, and she used the twilight of the morning when it wasn't too hot to explore the area. There were a lot more ruins to the north and the west, and a very large ruin to the east. To the south was only desert. Now she needed something to find the other two. She couldn't do anything too fancy; after all, who knew who was watching or residing here.

But luck was with her again. After thinking there was something odd about the horizon, Kairi shielded her eyes against the rising sun in the east and examined the south from a higher point. No doubt about it—there was smoke from a fire. Given her surroundings, the chances were good that it was Naminé or even both of the girls.

Which direction were they headed to? From their point of view, everything around them must be sand and more sand. Kairi could probably make it over to that southern point in less than eight hours, which was still extremely far in the heat of the day. She had to try anyway. If they went too far south, they might never find her, or she them.

Packing up the clothes and using the blanket to cover her face and head, and taking the cloak as additional protection, Kairi proceeded at maximum speed but without exhausting herself. If something attacked her, she would need to be able to fight.

---Valiant Hearts---

"That's east, so north is over there. I don't think we should go there. We should go further south, and try to get out of this desert," Naminé said, remembering some lectures from Aerith about this.

Olette would have to force herself to keep wearing the too-small shoes. The sand was already becoming hotter by the minute and soon it would be too much to walk on. At least they didn't have any water problems. Naminé was with her, and she could conjure up magical ice as many times as they needed. Kairi could do the same, so at least Olette didn't need to worry about that.

The real problem was food. It didn't look like anything grew or lived in this vast desert. They could live on just water for quite a few days, but if they didn't find a way back or at least something to eat…

One problem after another. First they had to try and look for Kairi, or at least some sort of place to use as cover for the night.

"Wait." Naminé stopped Olette, who was about to put on her shoes.

She ripped some fabric off her cloak and and pulled the laces from Olette's shoes, then fashioned some provisional shoes on Olette's feet and applied a Cure spell to ease the pain. "That'll do. I came up with the idea when I thought of what Kairi would do. Are you really okay carrying me? I can make some shoes for me," Naminé said, looking at her ripped cloak.

"No. We don't know how often we need to change these. Or how long they'll hold. We can't give up our only means of staying warm at night. We'll freeze to death. Come on, I'll carry you." It was the logical choice. Giving in here meant admitting that Olette wasn't as reliable as she thought she would be. She didn't want to do that.

Even though the additional weight wasn't much, it was tiring to walk in the soft sand while carrying someone. At least they both were uninjured. As they slowly marched south, the two girls wandered for over an hour in the brutal sun.

"Are you okay? You're breathing really heavily, Olette." Naminé was worried. Even though Olette had the body of an adult, she had to carry another person in this heat. "We need to take a break. I don't know if this will work, but please let me down."

Olette was about to refuse when she felt a sudden dizziness come over her that forced her to kneel to stop herself from throwing up. This was suicidal. There was nothing in sight in any direction. The smoke from their fire was long gone. What if someone who wasn't Kairi noticed the fire and was on their way to kill them? It would be impossible to fight in this heat. They had to find cover soon.

Naminé felt bad about being carried all this way and concentrated hard. She found it amazingly easy to use magic even though she wasn't in the best shape. Using a short recitation blizzard spell, Naminé formed a wall of ice that stretched out directly against the sun. It wasn't high, barely six feet, but it was three feet thick, and it provided shadow and some cold air. If they used Monochrome to carve a hole in the lower part, they could use the heat of the sun to melt some of the ice and drink the water.

"Thank you." Olette crawled into the shadow but did not lean on the wall. It would be a bad idea to do so, as going back into the sun afterward would create too much of a temperature difference once they continued.

Naminé used some of the water to cool the sand under her feet. For some reason, this red sand refused to turn into mud when combined with water. It just…cooled down.

Reversing the position from last night, Naminé sat down behind Olette and started to apply a very weak but constant curing spell to Olette's body, trying to ease some of the fatigue. While Cure was primarily used for injuries of the body, Naminé found that the spell itself also helped with fatigue, although the effect was minimal.

"I wonder if we'll ever get back." With a sigh, the brunette looked at the sky. She had noticed this before, but this world's sky had no clouds. The night had no stars, no moon. Where were they? This all seemed like a bad dream.

"We will. When we meet up with Kairi, we'll figure out something. The ice wall won't last long. We need to get going in maybe ten or twenty minutes. I tried to make it last longer, but this sun…"

"That's more than enough for me. I do wonder if we're going in circles, though. There is just sand all around in every direction, no matter how far I look. I am worried about Kairi." Olette knew that they were in a dire situation, but she was thankful that Naminé was with her. If not for her, Olette probably would've died during the first night. Her inability to use any magic was becoming really hard on her.

"Thanks," Olette whispered, and grabbed Naminé's hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't know what to do without you." She tried to imagine what it would be like to really love her. Olette tried but couldn't. She couldn't feel that way about Naminé, not even now. But trying to see her as Kairi saw her would maybe help her to understand how Kairi felt.

"Sometimes I'm really happy you rely on me like this." Naminé leaned forward and hugged the taller girl in front of her. "Kairi is so independent, sometimes it's like she's pushing me away. I'm so glad you're back to talking with her. I missed you." Naminé could say such things out loud without being embarrassed in the slightest. Olette was blushing a bit on the inside and showed a big smile.

"Let's go. Who knows how large this desert is." Olette stood up and was ready to carry Naminé, but before she knew what happened, Naminé had put an ice cube in Olette's mouth and one in her own.

"Rations." The girl smiled and let herself be lifted up.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi had found the remains of the fire. Three hours had passed since she had left her base, but the burned remnants of old wood were still there. There was no wind, no movement in the sand, so it was easy to track them. From the looks of the sand and early footprints, it looked as if two people had been there. But after a few meters, the footprints got deeper and one set of footprints disappeared. Was one of them injured? Had one to carry another?

Kairi couldn't imagine Naminé carrying Olette, but Olette carrying Naminé was quite plausible. She had to hurry, as they were heading deeper into the desert. How far could they have gone? If Olette was carrying Naminé, she had a good chance of catching them. Ignoring her need for rest, Kairi pushed on.

Not a half hour later, she found an area that was full of footprints, as if they had stopped and had wandered. There was also a part of the sand that was ice cold, like it had been frozen solid. That was clearly the work of magic ice. Kairi was now sure that these were the tracks of Olette and Naminé. Olette was unable to use magic.

They couldn't be much further. Taking a risk, Kairi used fire magic to send an exploding fireball into the sky, hoping that the others would see it. After firing three more times, she dematerialized Oathkeeper and continued to follow the tracks. The sun was at its height now, and this was not the time to wander about. But she had to find them, had to bring them back.

---Valiant Hearts---

"We don't know if that was Kairi. Something could have followed our tracks and could be trying to catch us off our guard! We have no idea where we are or what could be out there." Olette was reluctant about going back. If the signals were a trap, and the enemy was accustomed to this heat, they had little chance of winning. What if a member of the Organization had followed them? But if it really was Kairi…

"I know it's Kairi! It just has to be." Naminé was in favor of going back, Olette against it.

"Let's wait here. If it's not Kairi, we can always try to land a surprise hit and get away. Are you okay with using high-level magic? Not feeling too tired?" Olette knew that she would not last half an hour fighting in this heat. Naminé was her safety assurance.

"I'm okay with that. But I can sense it's Kairi. We won't have to fight anyone." Naminé was so sure it was Kairi. Something like this had happened before. There was this link between them, something that exceeded being lovers, exceeded…

Olette took cover behind a sand dune and had both Keyblades summoned and ready. Naminé was behind another dune, using ice magic to temporarily cool down the sand to prevent getting burned by it. They didn't have to wait long.

---Valiant Hearts---

The tracks stopped not even thirty feet further in that direction. Kairi knew they must be around here somewhere. Taking another step, Kairi saw exactly what she was expecting. An ambush. Olette was rushing towards her, both Keyblades summoned to attack. That meant Naminé was probably at Kairi's back.

Summoning Oathkeeper in time, Kairi blocked the frontal assault and was instantly forced back by the sheer brute force. Olette really was strong now. In this range, Kairi stood no chance. But that meant nothing. The woman froze when she saw Oathkeeper.

Undoing the cloth around her head, Kairi looked at her fellow Keyblader and smiled. "That was one hell of an attack."

Olette couldn't trust her eyes. It really was Kairi. And she had attacked her! Thankfully she wasn't hurt. "I'm sorry, but how was I supposed to know what you'd look like now?! These clothes, your hair!"

Kairi walked up to Olette and looked directly in her face. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Where's Nami—" They almost crashed back into the sand when Naminé jumped on Kairi's back, hugging her tightly.

"I knew you'd come for us! I'm so glad you're here now." The magician was completely ignoring the situation.

"You sound so different. Both of you. And I see the same thing that happened to me happened to you," Kairi said, and started to blush. She could feel Naminé's chest pressing against her back.

"You're one to talk. You look nothing like you did before. And your voice is different, too." Olette's voice was complaining but she was also smiling. "I'm happy we're back together. But how did you find us?"

"About four hours away in the north there are a lot of ruins. I took cover there my first night. I was looking at the area from the roof of a building when I saw the smoke of your fire in the morning. I followed the direction, found the fire, and followed your tracks here," Kairi explained. Somehow she managed to get Naminé off of her. The magician instantly started to jump around, trying to get back on the cooled-down sand.

Before anything else could've been said, Olette hugged Kairi, who was so surprised that she dropped her Keyblade, which dematerialized and vanished. "I'm so happy we're back together now." With a smile on her face, Olette closed her eyes and enjoyed this moment of peace. She was a bit taller than Kairi now, but that didn't bother her.

"Me too. But we need to get moving. It's noon now, and we will be slower on our way back than I was on my way here," Kairi said, patting Olette's back. She was really happy about finding them, but she was more worried about what would happen if they didn't manage to get back in time.

"Before we go, you two should look to see if there's anything in here that fits you. I didn't know if you two had grown too, so I took with me everything I could find." She loosened up the bag that was actually just a piece of cloth with some clothes stashed inside and handed it over to Olette, who started look through it.

"Naminé, can you provide some cover again?" Olette asked before she started to take a closer look. "I don't think it's good to change in the heat of the sun. It doesn't have to last long, but it should fit all three of us in the shadow."

Kairi could guess now what had caused the sand to be frozen solid. Naminé instantly started to chant a recitation and caused a wall of ice to erect over them, providing enough shadow for all three of them to stand.

Opening up the cloth and spreading it out on the sand, Olette started to lake a closer look at the clothes while Naminé sat with Kairi on her cloak.

After going through everything once, Olette picked a few things that looked her size and was already pulling on her shirt when she noticed that while Kairi had the modesty to look away and turn around, Naminé lacked that delicacy. Thinking of the last night, Olette thought she might as well not care, but she was still embarrassed. To her luck, Kairi pulled on Naminé's arm and told her to turn around.

About two minutes later, Olette finished up lacing up her new shoes. They fit well and even though she didn't like the style, they would be useful. "I'm done."

Olette had completely changed out of her old clothes. Kairi turned around and had to suppress the urge to giggle. Out of all possible things, Olette had taken the black top and hot pants, along with brown half-boots. If anything, she now resembled her teacher both in appearance and fighting style.

"If not for your chaotic brown hair and your eyes, one could mistake you for Tifa from a distance. Well, except you lack in the chest area," Kairi teased, but she could only smile. Olette didn't look bad, but she resembled Tifa so obviously that it was funny.

"These were the only things that fit!" Olette blushed and turned around. She had known that Kairi would make this comparison but it still felt weird to actually hear her say it. But what could she do? It was this or some unpractical clothes or too-small ones.

"You're next, Naminé. I hope there is something…that fits," Kairi said, and she couldn't help but stare for a second at her chest. When she met Naminé's gaze, she blushed furiously and looked away. When Naminé passed by Olette, whose turn it was to sit down now, she whispered something that made Olette sulk when she sat down and Kairi asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing!" Olette was a bit angry and looked into the distance. It wasn't her fault she wasn't a booby monster like Naminé now or Tifa!

Naminé had it a bit harder to look through things. Either they were too big or they simply didn't fit her. The only pair of shoes left that remotely fit were another pair of boots, although these were even higher than Kairi's but not laced. The best thing she could find was a long white robe with blue stripes over the back and the parts near the hips. There was even something written on it: _Verum ultra Verum_.

"I'm done. What do we do with our old clothes and the leftovers?" Naminé found it difficult to walk with these new shoes, but she managed not to fall.

"Taking them with us. We don't know how long we're going to be stuck here. And we have to find out where 'here' is. But first we'll go back to the ruins." Standing up, Kairi looked Naminé up and down. The look was entirely different from before. The appearance of a naïve teenager had vanished. Now she was looking at a grown woman who looked like a magician from head to toe.

"It suits you. It makes you really look like a sorceress." Kairi complimented her, then proceeded to get the cloth back into the shape of a bag. The ice wall was about to vanish.

"You get compliments and I get mocked. The world is so unfair. In many ways." Olette was still sulking. But when she looked at Naminé, the clothes really did suit her.

"I think those clothes look really good on you. Kairi was just teasing you, Olette." Naminé knew that Olette was seriously sulking and gave Kairi, who just happened to look her way, a serious glare.

They didn't speak much after packing up. Their cloaks served well to protect from the immense heat, and the new clothes were a big help. Naminé figured out pretty soon how to walk with the boots, and Olette had no problems at all. To save time, they only rested once, but by the time the sun had almost vanished under the horizon, the ruins were still a good distance away.

"We have no choice. We need to keep going. There is absolutely nothing here we could use for a fire to pass the night. What did you two use as fuel for your last fire?" Looking around, the redhead really couldn't see anything that could serve to keep a fire going. It was impossible to maintain a fire without any material, not even a magical one.

"There was some wood around the area where we woke up. I don't know where it was from," Olette replied, taking a deep breath. It would take less than a hour for the cold to come.

"Doesn't matter anymore. Let's go." Kairi put the cloth back on her face, and Olette and Naminé used parts of their cloak to imitate her. They tried to maintain a little bit of warmth by keeping close to each other, but it didn't help. A half an hour later, they were freezing. And without the sun, they had no orientation, but Kairi trusted her instincts and kept going.

Not long after that, the ruins were finally in sight. The three girls looked at them for a few seconds from the top of a high dune. They were almost there. Kairi thought she saw something in the distance out of the corner of her eye, but it was too late when she reacted.

Suddenly, Naminé fell over and hit the ground. Kairi instantly knelt down over the girl's still form and felt her pulse. She was alive, but ice cold. As Naminé had no physical training, it was no wonder the cold took more of a toll on her than on the others.

Olette knelt down and picked Naminé up before she got any colder, then wrapped her cloak around her as she carried the girl in her arms. It was a hindrance, but this way, she would be warmer.

"We need to get to those ruins fast. She's as cold as the sand." Olette was so worried that her voice was shaking a bit.

Kairi only nodded, not wasting any more breath. They started moving much faster than before, running part of the way when the ground allowed for it. They were soon out of breath, but at least the cold wasn't as brutal anymore now that they were exhausting themselves. She was a bit surprised. She knew that Olette and Naminé had become close during the incident with the Organization when Kairi had almost died, but she hadn't known that the brunette cared about Naminé this much. She couldn't put a finger on exactly why she was thinking about this. It was sort of sweet, but then…

It still took them over an hour to finally reach the ruin Kairi had used the night before. While Kairi was laying Naminé down on the mattress of the old bed, Olette was a few levels below them, trying to break up the wooden frame of the bed for a fire. After a few useless tries, Olette summoned Hero's Crest and started to hack and slash at the frame until at least the part that wasn't submerged in sand was cut loose.

Olette almost dropped the wood when she came up to the room. Kairi was sharing the blanket with Naminé, trying to warm her up.

"Put it on top of the remains from yesterday," Kairi said, motioning towards the wood. "If it goes out, we can use the drawer in one of the upper levels." She then got up, and Olette noticed that she was really relieved that Kairi was fully dressed, and used a fire spell to light a fire.

"Hold her for a second. I'm gonna move the mattress closer to the fire." Olette gave a nod and picked up Naminé, holding her until Kairi pushed the mattress so close to the fire that any closer would set it aflame.

After Olette put Naminé down again, Kairi quickly left the room and came back, seconds later, with a big but thin wooden plank. "This will serve as door," she said. "It'll leave enough air for us to breathe and it'll keep the warmth in." Kairi placed the plank over the small doorframe that connected the room to the rest of the ruin, then vanished under the blanket.

Olette felt a bit left out. Should she just sit on the mattress and ignore what Kairi was doing? Sure, Naminé needed the warmth, but what about her? It was still cold, and there was no second blanket there, and nothing she could use to cover herself except her cloak. Pulling the cloak tighter around herself, Olette closed her eyes and tried to ignore everything around her.

Not even a minute passed before Kairi put her hand on her shoulder. What did she want now? To show off how close she and Naminé were?

"What are you doing? Do you think I can warm her all by myself? What are you waiting for? An invitation from me?" Kairi seemed deadly serious.

Olette blushed a bit at the thought of being this close to Kairi, even though the situation was a difficult one.

"We made up, didn't we?" Kairi said, looking at the ground. Her face was slightly red, from the light of the fire or from…something else, Olette didn't know.

But she didn't have to think about it any longer. Naminé was there between them. No matter how things had been in the past, she trusted Kairi and she felt that it was the right thing to do. Taking off her own cloak and collecting Kairi's and Naminé's as well, she joined the other two under the blanket, using the discarded cloaks as second blanket over them. It wasn't much, but it was an effort.

Being so close to Naminé was nothing new, even though Olette was still a little bit embarrassed about being so close to her in front of Kairi. It was so…weird. Kairi was so close that Olette could hear her breathing. She didn't do anything Olette would've thought of as offensive. No mocking. Doing nothing to Naminé. There were…ways to keep Naminé warm without her, but Kairi preferred to have her, Olette, next to her.

"You're horrible," Olette said, and looked away. She could look right into Kairi's eyes, but she didn't for fear of the feelings that might come up. She was afraid of knowing if she really still loved Kairi.

"What did I do to deserve that?" Kairi asked. She reached out past Naminé and grabbed Olette's arm to pull her closer. Naminé was facing Olette, and while Kairi had one arm around her waist, the other was still holding Olette's right wrist.

"Nothing. That's the problem! You're with Naminé, you're a couple, and you're not doing anything! Why are you being considerate of me?" Olette didn't try to free herself. Instead, she draped her left arm around Naminé and looked directly at Kairi. The light was in her back, so Kairi wouldn't be able to see her bright red face.

"Because you're also important to me," Kairi answered truthfully. She knew it was stupid to lie in this kind of situation and she was sick of this too. Olette deserved an honest answer and she had gotten one.

"You're just saying that. If I am also important to you, why did you reject me?!" Olette was angry now and tried to free her right wrist from Kairi's hand.

"I rejected her too, did you forget that? She taught me that it's wrong to run from your feelings. Even if they change over time. I don't want to see any of you hurt again." Kairi's voice was shaking.

Olette had never seen Kairi like this. Naminé really had changed her. To the better. Or the worse. "But then…what should I do…?" Olette was whispering to herself, but Kairi still heard it.

"Do what your heart tells you." Kairi knew that it was a really cliché response, but it had worked for her. After all this time of ignoring all her feelings, she had finally faced them and found love.

"You won't like that," Olette said, taking a deep breath. But maybe it was the only way. She couldn't think clearly, couldn't think of anything else. Maybe it was time to stop lying to herself, to stop pretending that problems went away if they were ignored long enough. That some feelings were problems.

Before Kairi could respond, Olette leaned forward, and in a freezing night in a world they did not know, in the light of a fire to save their lives, they shared a single, pure kiss.

**End of Chapter XX**


	21. Days of Nightmare – A Hope for Darkness

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XXI

_Days of Nightmare – A Hope for Darkness_

By the time morning came, the girls had long woken up and had spread out to look for useful things—things they would need to survive. In this unknown place, in a world of death and loneliness, they had little choice but to take what they could. Not much time passed until it was so hot that every step seemed like torture.

Kairi was alone on her way through the ruins. There were signs that this place had been deserted for years now. Sand had slowly found its way into remote places; walls were eroding under the harsh circumstances.

The biggest ruin seemed like it had once been a castle or something similar in the past. It looked odd, as if it had been built by gigantic forces ages ago. There were devices and half-broken sculptures that were clearly not man-made. A great deal of the structure had collapsed, and while it was hard to say for sure, it must've been a grand castle in the past.

Kairi had sent Naminé and Olette to find something to eat. It didn't matter if they came back with nothing but desert creatures. There was no sign of any civilization in this unknown world, so they had to find food. Water was no problem as long as either Kairi or Naminé were there since Kairi and Naminé could use magic to create ice they could melt. They kept a healthy supply of fresh water in some buckets they had found.

While walking through a big hall, Kairi examined the walls and the ground. Both were covered in marks made by claws, some bigger, some very small. She reached the end of the hall and saw there was a staircase at the end.

This place...it hadn't just collapsed. It showed signs of battle, of destruction far beyond anything Kairi could imagine. In some places there were scratch marks in the ground and walls, as if something with gigantic steel claws had scraped at it in a fury. No Heartless could have done that.

After jumping over the gap in the stairs, Kairi found the way to the upper levels blocked by sand and debris from the collapsed walls. Kairi gave up on a way to get past the blockade and returned to the ruin in which they had made their base. She had spent most of the morning working on a solution for the cold of the nights. They had amassed as many blankets as they could find, and even though they would have to keep close to each other like before, the cold wouldn't be as bad.

Naminé and Olette were already waiting with bright, smiling faces. Kairi thought they had found a supply of food, but they had actually found a solution to a different problem. Looking behind them, Kairi saw an old metallic thing that seemed to be an antique heater. Cid would have loved one of those.

"We found this in a ruin not too far from here. There were lots of tools, mostly broken, and some machines. Must've been a garage or something in the past. We can use this to heat this room. I already made a hole in the wall. I...kinda feel bad for using my Keyblade for such things." Olette averted her eyes and looked at the ground.

"Don't worry. I've done a lot worse with Oathkeeper than using it as a hammer to break a hole into a wall. That was a really good idea and really lucky. We're still short on fuel for the fire, though. What about food?" Kairi looked at Naminé now.

"Nothing. We looked everywhere, but there isn't anything. I'm sorry, Kairi."

Naminé had been close to freezing to death the night before when Kairi and Olette had saved her life by warming her. She didn't know anything about what had happened. Kairi and Olette told her she had passed out on their way to the ruins.

"If we get attacked while in a weakened state, we won't even have the strength to fight back. We need to find something soon." Kairi knew how dangerous starving could be, how it could drive one insane. She had experienced it once before and she didn't want the other two to go through the same.

"Did you find out anything about where we are, Kairi?" Olette changed the subject to lift the mood at least a little bit. She tried to sit down, miscalculated how long her legs were, and hit her head on the wall. "Dammit...it takes time to get used to this body."

It was still weird. She had often wished to be an adult, to be all grown up, but now that she _was_...it wasn't what she had hoped it would be. Naminé had become a really elegant woman, if not for the terrible circumstances and wildly thrown-together clothes. Kairi was...she was good looking. A serious-looking type. There were no mirrors here, but from what Olette could see, she really hadn't become a beauty herself.

"The structure of the castle is odd. I found some familiar-looking shapes, things like half-broken gargoyles and fountains. Most of what remains is built in a style I haven't seen before. Also, there are marks of battle all over the place. The path to the upper levels inside is blocked, so we will have to look for another way in."

As she sat down next to Olette, Kairi glanced at Naminé, asking her with a mere look to come to her. The sun was at its peak, but this room was on the shadowy side of the building, so it was not too hot inside.

Pulling off her cloak, Kairi enjoyed the cold of the wall after the heat outside. Just where were they? And what had happened here? The Heartless? Unlikely. The Heartless were powerful, but only in destroying a world completely. Sucking it into darkness. Not laying siege to it, leaving ruins like this.

Naminé was leaning on Kairi's shoulder when Olette got up and knocked some dust and sand off her clothes. "I forgot to tell you, we found a couple of places that had lots of wooden furniture. There was even something like a stall made of wood. I know this doesn't solve our food problem, but at least we won't be cold anymore."

Olette only said it to distract herself. She hadn't felt cold the last night and she wasn't able to think straight. Not with Kairi this close.

Kairi didn't look at Olette and averted her eyes before giving a nod. She was worried. They could create ice and melt it for water anytime, but no magic in this world could create food.

"A lot has happened since we met, huh?" Olette started up a conversation. It felt so cliché and typical to talk like this. It seemed like right out of an adventure novel. But it was nowhere near as interesting as a book. Reality was much harsher than any story.

"We fought the Organization. We almost died. We had a big fight. We got stronger. But it was all for nothing if we die here," Kairi replied. She looked at Naminé at her side; she had fallen asleep. It was such a peaceful and beautiful face. After staring at it for a while, Kairi started to space out.

"Your forehead is going to get wider, Kairi." Olette said, bringing Kairi back to reality. "You're always thinking about everything alone—where we are, why we're here, who's behind this..."

The brunette suddenly stood and looked down at the redhead. "But that's what I admire about you. You don't give up. But even I can feel that this situation is pretty hopeless. Even _I_ feel that there is no way back this time. But that's fine. It's fine, as long as I'm here with you."

Olette sat down on the opposite side of the room. "I wish I could be like that. When I was all alone with Naminé, I tried to be strong and think about stuff like you, but I really was no good in the end." She sighed.

"What was it like, being with Naminé? Now that I think about it...I think Naminé mentioned that you two slept very close to each other," Kairi said. This meaningless chit-chat was welcome to distract her from thinking too much and running in circles, a bad habit of hers.

"What—what was it like? Do you think she is different around me?" Olette was slightly confused. Kairi should know Naminé just as well as she did.

"No, I meant...well. What was it like for you? To be honest, I sometimes think it wouldn't been odd for you to come to like her. You never thought about her that way?" Kairi, now that she was together with Naminé, could see how she was a pretty charming girl.

"No, never. I see her more...like a sister. Or something close to that. It would be odd for me to be romantically interested in her. Not to mention that I always knew she liked you. Even back then." Olette looked at the ceiling. Was it odd that she had never been interested in Naminé? She was interested in her, but only as a friend. She was the one and only person she could really discuss anything with.

"A sister, huh..." Kairi looked at the sleeping girl and imagined the rough, brutish Olette and the frail, elegant Naminé as sisters. The sheer image made her smile.

---Valiant Hearts---

The evening came quickly. Kairi had been silent the whole day, and Olette spent most of the day in another room, away from Kairi and Naminé.

"I don't know if the castle is safe, so you two come with me. It's possible we'll find some clue about this place there." Kairi was back in leader mode and giving instructions.

They hurried over to the castle, and since Kairi knew the interior was mostly destroyed, they used ice magic to create platforms on the outside to enter through a giant hole in the upper section.

The interior was beyond anything Kairi had ever seen. It was so bad that both Olette and Naminé immediately threw up and broke down on their knees. Kairi's mind was frozen. What...what was this place?

The ground was stained red with blood, and human bones were everywhere. Dozens of people must've died here, brutally murdered, torn apart. Splashes of old dried blood was on the walls, and the ground was dyed in the dark crimson red of a terrible slaughter. As they looked to the end of the hall, the stairway up to the second floor seemed intact. Taking one step ahead, Kairi jumped back. Something... _someone_...was crying.

Kairi looked behind her and saw Naminé kneeling on the ground, crying. Olette was kneeling next to her, patting her head. Olette was as pale as ash and probably about to faint, but she still cared for Naminé in her situation.

"I...can hear them. The screams of the people that died here. They're in my head...screaming for help, screaming for mercy, begging for their lives. But they were not saved. Nobody came to save them. So...so...so many died here...so many..." Naminé shook her head, looking at the ground in sheer terror.

"Olette, look after her for a while, please. I'm going...up." Kairi took a big gulp of air as they were near the hole in the wall. The further she went inside, the thicker the air got. It was abnormal. These people must've been dead for years and yet it was like they had died just yesterday.

Kairi felt her stomach acting up. She had seen, caused and suffered brutal violence herself, but this was...not just violence. This had been a merciless slaughter.

The stairs were free of the stains. But something was different. She had to force herself to go up. Each step became harder, like something truly terrible, far exceeding this hall was waiting up there. Kairi mustered all her willpower and advanced forward. The last step.

But there was nothing. This was the uppermost level that was still intact. There were only a few bloodstains on the ground and walls here and there. Very few must've made it up here. The air was also different from below. Not thick and hard to breathe, but stale and cold. Yes, it was cold, even though this room should have been heated beyond belief from the sun. The air was cold and so was the ground, as if this room refused the warmth of the sun.

There was nothing. Nothing at all. Kairi walked around a few minutes, trying to calm her mind before going back downstairs. Then...

It had to be a coincidence. If...if it really was what Kairi was thinking it was then it was clear where they were. Walking slowly towards it, Kairi felt pressure building up. She could still run away. Report there was nothing here. That it was just empty. That...that....

But she couldn't. Standing in front of it, her mind froze.

---Valiant Hearts---

Over fifteen minutes had passed since Kairi went up. There were no noises from fighting or anything. No screams or yelling. Just eerie silence.

Naminé had finally gotten a hold on herself as she tried her best to shut the voices out. Breathing heavily, Olette carried Naminé piggyback up the stairs. Even though Naminé tried her best, the voices still tormented her. She was unable to walk or even stand.

Olette thought the stairs would never end. She looked down at them and realized she had only crossed four steps, and yet it seemed like she had been walking for a whole day. Her legs were tired and her mind told her to go back. Up ahead was something terrible. But even so, Kairi was up there, and she had to check if everything was all right.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Olette reached the uppermost level. It wasn't as bad as below. So why wasn't Kairi coming down?

It took her only seconds to locate Kairi. She was sitting on the ground, staring at something that was plunged in the hard stone ground.

"Kairi? Is everything okay?" Olette yelled, but Kairi didn't even respond. Then there was some movement.

Kairi slowly let her arms sink down, then dropped something onto the floor. Olette hurried over and let Naminé down, who instantly went to check on Kairi. Picking up what Kairi had dropped, she now saw that it was what appeared to be a book.

It was in scrawly handwriting. Olette started to read.

_Final Entry_

_Only I am left of the once glorious Hollow Bastion, the last bastion against the Heartless. I can hear them. They are outside. Soon they will come for me. I can hear their claws scratching on the doors. I can hear their screams. I think the doors are breaking. They're coming.......they're coming......._

Olette felt terrible. What was this?! Who wrote this? She closed the book and tried to make out the title. The only eligible letters were _"...e…fall...ollow…..."_

Her body trembled. Her hands were shaking. Opening the book, she read the first entry.

_Day I, Defeat_

_Today,...darkest...Hollow Bastion has come.…...only ones alive are Tifa and myself, Leon...Hollow Bastion.....lost our Keybladers......Kairi, Naminé and Olette. ….they…..dead….world will soon die...era of darkness._

Olette fell to her knees. Her mind had stopped working. What she just read was completely incomprehensible for her. That...couldn't be right. She was alive. Kairi was alive. They hadn't died. But...but...but! With a shaking hand, she turned the page. Several entries were unreadable. Then she finally came upon one that had been spared by time and sand.

_Day VI_

_Only ten people alive...I'm one of them, I think. Tifa died today. …..she died the day Aerith….. didn't speak.......just her body, her soul had long left.…. We ran out of food today._

Olette's eyes were wide and blank. It was like a nightmare. The thirst, heat, hunger, loneliness—nothing mattered anymore.

Turning the page again, Olette's mind forced her to continue. Many pages later, another readable entry showed up. It was completely preserved. It was writing in red ink.

_Day X_

_Their faces haunt me at night. I cannot forgive myself. I cannot hope for forgiveness. I...can only assume how Aerith died. That beast...the beast that is still showing on the horizon at night. She must have given her life to summon it. I do not know why... but Aerith chose death and vengeance over life. I do not know what happened to the others, but I shall write down what happened to Tifa, Yuffie and Cid._

Olette was staring at the letters in cold sweat. Yuffie. Yuffie. Yuffie. It was the only thing she could make out. Afraid to read on, Olette wanted to look away, run away, never touch this book again. But then...she had to know. She could never live on if she ran away now.

_Yuffie lost her life trying to buy me and Tifa time. A man from the Organization wielding a great sword killed her. She was dead in an instant. He cut right through her, as if she were just made of paper. I...I am still shivering when I think back. I shouldn't have let her go. Cid...Cid took over where Yuffie left off. He saved Tifa's and my life by sacrificing himself. He blew up himself along with that man. He was a true hero to the end, always living by his ideals. And Tifa...she was alive when we escaped to the uppermost level of the castle. Her body was, at least. I think her soul had left her after she must've seen how the love of her life died. I cannot bear to look at the cold, dead body that was once Tifa. I...feel guilty for being still alive. So...guilty..._

Olette crashed onto the cold, hard floor. That couldn't be true. It just couldn't be true. Everyone...everyone...

Olette got up and slowly walked to the outer wall like a zombie.

Yuffie. Was dead. Dead. It was like a gigantic weight had been dropped on Olette. Like a switch had been flicked off and her entire world had become wrapped in darkness. Yuffie. The girl that had embraced her when she was hurt and lonely after being rejected. The girl that was always teasing her but who was really kind deep down. The girl who cared for her. All that was gone. Forever gone.

Hitting the wall with her fists, Olette tried to overcome the immense grief she was feeling. Why did she have to die? Why did everyone have to die? Why were they brought here? Why couldn't she go back and be with her again?

After hitting the wall until she could no longer contain herself, Olette screamed out and summoned her Keyblades as an outlet for her anger and sadness. Completely unable to control herself now, Olette started to scream and hack away at the stone wall. The impact was great enough to send stone shards flying all over the place, cutting her arms and legs, her cheek, her stomach, her waist. She didn't care. She didn't care at all. Everyone was...everyone was...

Dead. Nobody was left. Nobody. No...body...

Olette's powerful attacks became slower. Dead...they were all...dead. This was..._real_. They were all...dead...died...fighting...so long ago...

Finally, she stopped. She had stopped because someone was there. Who was it? She couldn't remember. Everyone was dead...so who...who was here...?

Looking down, Olette felt a sharp pain in her heart. She was staring into Naminé's face, overrun by tears.

They had heard everything. Everything. Kairi was holding Naminé's hand, staring into nothingness. It was like Kairi wasn't really there. Seeing Kairi like that..._Naminé_ like that, Olette finally calmed down. The rage left, and sadness came. An immeasurable sadness, great enough to wash away everything. Finally, tears started to fall, and Olette fell onto her knees, crying loudly and without holding back.

"They're...they're all dead! Dead! Nobody...nobody is left! Nobody..." Olette screamed out in pain. It was like her heart was trying to break, trying to give in to the pain that was too great to bear.

Naminé knelt down and took Olette's left hand. As she held Kairi's right hand, she waited for the brunette to calm down. Naminé was still crying, and she felt like it would never stop again. Leaning against the wall, Olette followed her and leaned against Naminé.

"Even...if everyone is gone...you still...have us." Naminé was sitting between Kairi and Olette. One was still apathetic and in shock while the other had let her feelings take over and had gone on a rampage. Naminé only cried. She was still crying and she knew the tears wouldn't stop anytime soon.

No one was left. They were all alone. Aerith. Tifa. Yuffie. Leon. Cid. The first people that she had considered friends. Considered family. And now, none of them were left. They would never come back.

She had read books like this. Books where the hero dies, where the heroine dies, where many people die. But reality was so different from all of that. She couldn't just go and close the book, forget about it. She would never be able to forget about them.

Neither of the three could. They had all loved those people, and now they were gone forever.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette had cried herself to sleep. Night had come. Naminé had finally stopped crying. But her heart was still hurt. Kairi had woken up and had cried a bit. She was still confused, not herself. No matter what happened, she had always thought that she would be fine as long as she were the only one who got hurt. But now...now...

The temperature in the room hadn't changed. It was like the room itself had died on that day, refusing any change.

The three wanted to leave this place. They couldn't bear to stay here. Not here, where the last of their friends had perished, where everything they had fought for had ended.

But Kairi refused to leave before doing something simple. She pulled out Leon's gunblade and rammed it into the ground near the entrance. Using a sharp stone to carve letters in the ground, she wrote:

_Here rest the souls of the last brave men from Hollow Bastion. Here rests Leon, friend and leader._

Compared to the pain they were feeling, the hall beneath them was nothing now. The stench, the blood, the bones. None of that mattered anymore. The outside cold was biting at their skin, forcing them back, forcing them to deal with reality.

It took them thrice as long as before to cross the distance between the castle and the ruin they were using as a hideout. There was no fire to welcome them back. No food. But they wouldn't have been able to eat anything anyway. Instead they drank some water and went to rest.

Feeling tired like never before, they tried to fall asleep, but none of them could. They saw the faces of their loved ones, heard their voices and they knew they would never hear or see them again. They were gone forever.

From time to time, one of them cried silently to herself, and the other two moved in a bit closer to signal that they were still there. None of them knew how much time passed before they fell asleep. A sleep with dreams, dreams that were cruel and yet much sought after. Dreams of the people they cared so much about. But it hurt. It hurt to see them, to be with them, because they knew that it was just a dream. A memory.

The morning came sooner than anyone wanted. Each of them felt like leaving the others, like wanting to be alone, wanting to give up and just escape this harsh reality. But they didn't.

Kairi knew that she would be betraying everything she had ever fought for if she gave up now. But it hurt so much to have lost the people that she held so dear. She remembered this feeling from some time ago. When she saw what happened to the Destiny Islands after Ansem had opened the door to darkness, immeasurable guilt and sadness had overcome her.

This time, there was no going back. It had already been a miracle that the Destiny Islands had been restored by killing Ansem and sealing Kingdom Hearts. And there was no way to change the past. Kairi felt despair slowly tighten its grasp on her heart.

Naminé soon realized that she would never see the others again. Never see Aerith smile or Tifa get angry. Never see Yuffie, Leon, Cid or Merlin again. She didn't know how to deal with her feelings. She had experienced sadness before, but this...it wasn't just sadness. At times, she just spaced out into thin air, remembering the faces of the people she had come to love. She had come to see them as her family and friends. She had long cried enough to not have any more tears to shed. After a while, she just sat down next to Kairi, just trying to calm her bleeding heart.

Olette was different from the others. Not despair, but rage consumed her. She had left the building despite the burning sun and occasionally the other two could hear the sounds of something collapsing. Olette was venting her anger out on what was left of this world. Unable to control herself whenever she thought that this was all that was left, she just let her rage control her. She was covered in bruises and smaller injuries after hours of running berserk. But it was not enough. It would never be enough. She would never be able to forgive herself, the Organization and the Heartless for this. No matter how much she destroyed, her anger would never truly go away.

The heat became too much to handle, even for her, so Olette took cover in a half-collapsed ruin. She really cursed herself for being unable to use any magic. Some water would've been great now. Her stomach was growling. How long had it been since she had last eaten? She already failed to remember. But what did it matter? Even if they died here from hunger, there was nothing left to fight for.

Just why had things come to be like this? Everything had been well before they had gone through the gateway and had been transported to this bleak future. For what reason? Was there even one? Was there really something called fate? If so, fate was cruel.

She had lost almost everyone she loved, the people she slowly came to accept as her new family. Yuffie, who had taken her in when she was hurt and who fell in love with her. Everything that was important to her. She had lost everything once before, when she found out Twilight Town was not real. But this was so much worse.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Are we going to die here too?" Naminé asked, looking at the ground. Not even she could keep an optimistic attitude in this situation, and the question was an honest one.

Kairi knew that giving her false hope was just cruel, so she answered truthfully. "There is nothing here. No animals, not even plants. There is nothing to eat. At most, we'll last a month."

They were leaning back to back, each just staring at the wall. Both were kind of apathetic. They hadn't moved for a while, and beside this one question, silence ruled over the room.

"Kairi...do you love me?" Naminé asked a delicate question like that just straight out. It was just how she was.

"I do." The answer was as plain as it could be. Kairi loved Naminé, but it was hard for her to say it. She felt better by just saying those two words. Only a little bit less sad.

Kairi could feel two long, slim arms moving over her shoulders. Naminé was hugging her, pressing her chest to Kairi's back. Her face was still sad, but different from a minute ago. Kairi was the person who made her the happiest, and she wanted to be with her more than ever. Having lost nearly everyone else, Kairi was even more important to her now.

As she tightly hugged the girl in front of her, Naminé whispered something to her.

"_Love me."_

Kairi knew instantly what she meant, and she was a little surprised that she wasn't against it. Deep down, she longed for her embrace right now.

Naminé gently kissed Kairi's neck, her hands moving under Kairi's shirt. It wasn't very romantic, but the warm feeling that surged up inside her was very comforting. Naminé wasn't smiling despite being this close to the girl she loved more than anything else. Continuing to kiss her neck, to caress it, Kairi turned her head slightly and touched Naminé's cheek with her left hand.

Their eyes met and they could see each other's sadness in them. Despite their best efforts to smile and look happy, they knew what the other one was feeling deep down. Angst. Despair. Sadness. Loneliness.

Naminé's hands were moving further up, circling around the redhead's breasts, touching them just briefly, as if testing new, unknown waters. Kairi didn't refuse her touch and moved in closer, turning around and laying both arms around the blond girl's neck. They didn't say anything, just stared at each other briefly before they kissed each other.

A tender and gentle kiss that tasted just a little bit salty. Just a tiny bit of surprise when Naminé pushed Kairi's lips open with her tongue and forced her way in to kiss her more deeply. She responded accordingly.

Kairi laid her arms around Naminé's waist, pulling her closer. Close enough for them to feel each other's breath, to see their chests rise and fall. A few strands of golden hair fell in the face of the gentle girl, and Kairi moved them away, kissing her forehead.

Naminé pulled up Kairi's shirt, then took it off. Kairi paid little attention that she was exposed like this. Naminé bent down and laid short but passionate kisses over Kairi's body. Down from her collarbone to her breasts.

Kairi put a stop to her advances for a second. Taking her hand, Kairi pulled her lover over to the mattress so they could lie down on it. She was okay with Naminé leading her, and she longed for this closeness, this warmth now.

Naminé got rid of her robe by throwing it carelessly on the ground. She grabbed one of the blankets they kept around to cover them before lying down with Kairi.

They could feel their warm bodies touching each other and this sensation had them blushing a little bit. Naminé started licking Kairi's neck. Her big breasts were pushing against Kairi's waist, arousing her, her breathing going faster.

"I love you, Kairi," Naminé whispered while moving up, slightly kneeling over Kairi. She looked down at her. Strands of hair fell into Kairi's face, tickling her.

"I love you too," Kairi replied, before pulling the girl into a deep kiss that took them away from this harsh reality.

---Valiant Hearts---

Olette was tired when she finally came back to their hideout. The heat was really getting to her and she wanted to lie down a bit to rest. Letting out a sigh, she took a short break on a stone in the lowest level near the entrance.

As she stared at the slowly-moving shadows on the ceiling, she tried hard to figure out why she had to suffer like this. Where had she gone wrong? When had she made the wrong decision for things to end like this?

Yuffie. The cute energetic girl who always teased her and the others but who was very different deep down. Olette knew her better than anyone else, even though the time they spent together had been so short. In the beginning, Olette had been reluctant to trust her. She had just been rejected by Kairi and was hurt, and that was when Yuffie had showed her true colors.

Olette found comfort where she least expected it. And now, that was all gone. A matter of the distant past. For her, it had only been a few days since she had last seen the black-haired girl, but for Yuffie...how long had it taken for her to realize and accept that Olette wasn't coming back?

"I wonder...if she ever forgave me..." Olette whispered to herself, finally noticing that tears were running down her cheeks. Her memories were still intact. That time on the beach, the evenings on the roof. The time they spent together. Her first time sleeping with someone.

Olette tried to imagine what it would be like if she and Yuffie had switched places. If Yuffie had gone away and hadn't come back for years. Would Olette have given up hope? Given up and accepted that Yuffie was dead?

Olette just couldn't bear it anymore. Thinking about how much Yuffie must've suffered made Olette hit the rock she was sitting on with her bare hand hard enough to cause her knuckles to bleed. The pain felt relieving.

She sat, spaced out, until the pain stopped, and stared out of the ruins they were hiding into the wide, deadly desert. Old memories she didn't want to recall came up. The first time she'd met Kairi and the time when she was forced to fight for her life. Her last time looking back at the town she grew up in. Her meeting with the people of Hollow Bastion. Living with Kairi and their first mission. Her confusion about her own feelings and finally...acceptance, followed by rejection.

No matter what she did, it all went wrong. If she had not given up on Kairi back then, would she be happier now? If she had never fallen in love with Kairi, would she be happier now? Both ways meant never loving Yuffie and not feeling this immeasurable pain of losing her.

But things that were done were done. There was no changing the past. And the future looked bleak.

Olette got up and slowly walked upstairs, too tired to make any sudden movements. By the time she reached the right floor, Olette was more sneaking than walking. It was awfully quiet. Had the other two fallen asleep?

When Olette looked inside the room to see if they were sleeping, she saw something unexpected. Naminé was making her move on Kairi. The redhead was already without her shirt and Olette had, just for a second, a very nice view of her body.

Telling herself that peeking was wrong, Olette left and went downstairs. What were they thinking? And at a time like this?

More confused than angry, Olette sat down on the stone block she had been resting on before. Even if it had been for just a second, she was still seeing that image before her eyes. And worst of all, she felt those suppressed feelings coming back.

Unable to resist, she went back up, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was so wrong, but at this point she didn't care. Not even a miracle could save them now, so why bother with little things like modesty?

By the time Olette went back up, they were already down on the mattress. Olette couldn't see much from around the corner, but she could hear their heavy breathing, Kairi's cute moan. It was really, _really_ wrong to eavesdrop on her closest friends having sex.

Naminé had vanished under the blanket. Olette was getting excited and aroused. They really were going to do it. Hadn't they thought about her? About the possibility of her returning around now?

Olette bit her lip as Kairi let out another one of her cute moans, totally unfitting for her usual personality. It was also odd that Naminé was the leading one in bed. Olette didn't really expect that, her being so innocent most of the time.

The brunette continued to watch and listen, biting her fingernails before she knew it. A slim arm threw out Kairi's skirt and Naminé's robe—they must be completely naked below the thin blanket. Olette couldn't resist and took a longer peek. She could see Naminé's back, the outlines of her ass and legs through the blanket.

Kairi's moans were getting louder and came more often, joined by ones from Naminé. Olette couldn't control herself anymore and one of her hands found its way below her black top. It wasn't a very refined act, but...

---Valiant Hearts---

Both of them were still breathing heavily. Kairi was holding Naminé in her arms; the blond girl had her eyes closed but was wide awake. It was an odd sensation. Just moments ago, this frail and innocent-seeming girl had slept with her. Kairi was still not thinking straight, but for the first time since they were stranded in this deserted world, she felt a bit of happiness.

Kairi moved to get up and get dressed. She didn't want to stay naked forever, especially not with Naminé close like this. She would just get excited again. But Naminé was holding her back, murmuring something. "Just a little bit more."

Kairi couldn't help but smile. Naminé was so peaceful-looking. And it was true...like this, it was hard to think of the situation they were in. Of their inevitable fate. Of anything but the innocent and angelic face of the girl in her arms.

It was there that Kairi found her turning point. She had finally been able to step over her boundaries, to answer Naminé with everything she had, without stopping her short of her goal. She would not give this up.

If they had come here somehow, there should be a way to go back. And if there was none, she would find one. She had not fought Ansem, Maleficent, all those Heartless and even the Organization for nothing. She had found Naminé and Olette, and survived that hellish island. Had returned home to where everyone was. _She would not give this up!_

Knowing that Naminé would never let her go and get dressed if she didn't force her will, Kairi kissed Naminé's cheek and jumped up too quickly for the blond girl to grab her. Quickly collecting her clothes, Kairi dressed and sighed. It had been her first time. And she was happy that it was with Naminé.

Kairi materialized her Keyblade, Oathkeeper, and looked at it as if to question it. A Keyhole portal had brought them here, so there should be some way to get them back.

"Naminé, can you get dressed? When Olette gets back, I have something to tell you two. I have an idea." Kairi was back to her old self. She would change the future. Change this reality. Her fight was not over. She had still time.

Naminé had a surprised look in her eyes, but she grabbed her clothes and put them on. This was the Kairi she loved and adored. She was a bit disappointed that Kairi had refused to cuddle but it was all right if she was back to normal now. Naminé tried to ignore the biting thoughts of the room that told them about the horrible truth of this place. She believed in Kairi.

Olette had heard everything. She had been taking cover behind a wall, trying to calm down. She felt a bit dirty, but it cleared her head from unnecessary thoughts.

Finally a bit calmer, Olette went back downstairs, as quietly as possible, summoned her Keyblades, and smashed a large rock to make some noise. She couldn't let them know, _ever_, about what she had don just now.

Moving upstairs, Olette was welcomed by Kairi, who had a serious expression. Olette took a deep breath. She could do this. Although her head was full of images of Kairi and Naminé having sex and the noises Kairi produced while at it, she tried to focus.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I don't know what exactly happened, but one thing is certain. A Keyhole can only work if there is an opening in both directions. If the Keyhole we used transported us to the future, the same should transport us back in the past," Kairi explained. "I think it is better to try and perish trying than to slowly wait for us to die from starvation. Do you two agree?" She shot the other two a questioning look.

Naminé was intrigued by this and quickly nodded her head. Olette felt that what Kairi said had some merit and nodded her head as well.

"Since the Keyhole to the world we were going to was in the middle of a district that, as far as I can tell, is completely gone, we will have to practically look all over the place." Kairi knew how hopeless this was and so she avoided any comparisons or estimations of how long this would take.

"Keyblades react to Keyholes if they're nearby. It's hard to explain, and you two are not that used to this yet, but if a Keyhole is nearby, your Keyblade will feel like...it's ringing. I know that sounds weird, but that's the best explanation I can come up with. It's going to be evening soon. We will start today." As usual, Kairi was in command. "Until then, we rest. I feel sort of tired." She avoided looking at Naminé as she said this.

"Obviously you'd feel tired after _that,_" Olette whispered to herself, and turned around to go sit on the mattress. Remembering what she saw not too long ago, she got a little bit excited.

Kairi and Naminé sat next to each other against the wall, Naminé taking a short nap, Kairi just closing her eyes in an attempt to try to make some fatigue go away.

Olette lay down, taking a deep breath. The mattress still carried Kairi's and Naminé's smell. Oddly she found both to be arousing, not just Kairi's. Not thinking anything of it, Olette tried to imagine what sleeping with Kairi would be like. Blushing heavily, she was happy that the other two had their eyes closed. She thought she would be jealous of Naminé, but...she just couldn't be. Naminé probably didn't want to steal Kairi away. It was just that she really loved her.

The sun was almost down when it had cooled down enough to make it bearable to be outside. Kairi woke Naminé up, who demanded a wake-up kiss that Kairi gave her in form of a kiss on the cheek, and proceeded to look to see if Olette needed to be woken up.

"I'm good to go. A bit tired from earlier, but okay." Olette was the least sensible in regards to their Keyblades, but she had two, so it evened out.

Kairi roughly designated the limits of the area they would search. Still, it was over a square mile to search and they had more or less to walk over it step by step, concentrating on their Keyblades. It was a tiring job. After nearly four hours of searching, there was absolutely nothing. They had to return to their base since it was getting very cold and even though they had cloaks, they didn't help much.

Sitting next to the small fire they managed in their room, they still kept close to each other. But both Kairi and Olette were kind of uncomfortable with this. Kairi, because she getting a little bit excited by Naminé, and Olette, who felt the same just being that close to Kairi. Naminé didn't seem to mind either of them and happily clung to Kairi, leaning on her and smiling.

But their mood was changed in an instant when they heard something in the far distance. It was like an enormous thunderclap, something that could split the land apart. Whatever it was, they were unable to figure it out, even after they went to the roof and tried to look in the distance. It was too dark and probably too far away.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Kairi was sure that there was something fishy going on. She remembered something else now. Leon had written that the Heartless had stormed this world. Hollow Bastion's heart was located deep inside the castle, beyond the room Leon had died in. Why...why was this world still here? Why hadn't the Heartless taken it? And why was there no moon? The missing stars were the missing worlds the Heartless had taken...

Why had she not thought of these things before? If there was no moon, something must've destroyed it. And as for why this world was still here...she couldn't explain that.

They had no choice but to go back to their room, so they decided to sleep until morning. Kairi had an excellent internal clock, so she would wake the others up when it was time. Naminé had already lain down on a corner of the mattress and she would for sure complain if Kairi didn't sleep next to her.

Olette didn't think much about it and lay down as well on the other corner, with her back towards Naminé. Even if Kairi slept next to her like this, it wouldn't change anything.

Kairi stepped over Naminé and lay down. She could feel Olette's back on hers, quite aware of her presence. She tried hard to not think about anything unnecessary like Olette finding out what happened earlier. Closing her eyes, Kairi fell asleep pretty fast and Olette followed minutes later as well.

The morning came with a little surprise. While Naminé had moved in closer and was sleeping in Kairi's arms, Olette had turned around while sleeping and was hugging Kairi. In fact, both of her arms wrapped tightly around Kairi's waist. Kairi felt like a pillow for the two.

Kairi was a bit short on patience, and woke both of them up quite roughly by just getting up. Both of them looked confused and spacey as they tried to grasp their surroundings.

"Time to continue our search. The sun will be up soon. Get up." Kairi was quite merciless when it came to these things.

Naminé took a few minutes to properly wake up while Olette made her way to one of the buckets they used to store water. She could still smell Kairi. She was a bit spaced out, having dreamt about the day before. Dreamt about what she'd seen. Kairi and Naminé sleeping with each other.

The morning search yet again met with no results. Kairi was starting to think the plan over. She had been too surprised to remember exactly where she'd first arrived. How was it possible that the other two were so far away from her location anyway?

"What...is that?" Olette looked at the horizon in terror, eyes wide open. Far away to the south, the entire sky was black. Not just the black of night, but a darkness so deep that it consumed even the land below. It was like a gigantic storm was coming their way, one so powerful that the world itself was bowing its head to it.

Running to where Kairi was, Olette immediately informed her of what she saw. But by the time she reached Kairi, the storm had stopped moving. It was now just a stationary cloud covering the south. It reached as far to the east and west as they could make out. Naminé had noticed it too and joined up with Kairi and Olette.

"That's not natural." Kairi's voice was calm and cold. Whatever that was, it was not good. "We're canceling the search for now. It's still far off, but who knows how far it will come over the day."

Kairi and the others went back to their hideout. The three of them took shifts, with one of them monitoring the cloud at all times.

Kairi was the first to take a shift. She would switch with Naminé in three hours. But for now, Olette and Naminé were supposed to rest. One thing kept happening after another.

Olette hadn't spent time with Naminé alone since the night they'd first arrived here. She didn't really know what to say to her and decided to rest as Kairi had instructed.

"I slept with Kairi yesterday," Naminé said straight out. She was sitting on the mattress, her back to Olette. "I know she doesn't want you to know, but I feel bad keeping it a secret from you. You like her too, don't you? I thought it was unfair to not tell you." Naminé truly felt that way. She liked Olette and didn't want to lie to her. Not about anything, even if it meant going against Kairi's will.

"I think there are some things one is better left not knowing," Olette complained, angry with herself. She knew that they had had sex, and the fact that Naminé was being honest with her hurt her—because she'd known about it all along, and yet lied to Naminé by pretending she didn't.

"I am going to sleep. Try to sleep too, Naminé," Olette said coldly, and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep without hearing another word from Naminé.

She dreamed about Yuffie. She dreamed about their trip to the beach and how they had parted. Olette regretted not doing more with her. If she could go back, she would spend more time with her, act more freely.

Naminé was feeling a little depressed about how things had gone. Just when had they started to move apart? When had everything gone wrong? And most importantly...how could she fix it?

Olette and she had been so close back then, when Kairi had almost died and when Olette cared for Naminé when she was sick. And now, even though they still were friends, her being with Kairi split them apart. And that wasn't something she could fix.

She wanted the old Olette back.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Wake up!" Kairi came running into the room in a hurry, quite upset. Both of them were a little confused about what was happening, but Kairi's alarmed expression had quite an effect.

"What's happening? Why the face?" Olette got up and finally noticed that Kairi was showing signs of battle. Oathkeeper was in her hands and bruises were forming on her arms.

"I figured out how to get out of here. I went to check on the top floor of the castle and found a portal. It's weird, it's doesn't look like a real portal, at least not a proper one. By the time I got out to tell you, Heartless were attacking. They were only scouts, but the main force will be here soon. That black cloud—it's a mass of Heartless!" Kairi was obviously quite stressed out about this. No matter how many lives they had, if that _whole cloud_ was Heartless...

"We need to hurry and get to the portal before they get us," Kairi said in a calmer voice as she looked at the other two. From here on, it was a race against time.

A race they had already lost. Just a few miles southward, Heartless were consuming the very fabric of the world, leaving nothing behind. More scouts were already in their area. Kairi skipped the last stair, jumped down and cut apart a few Heartless before Olette and Naminé followed, both wielding their Keyblades.

Kairi took the lead, followed by Naminé. Olette acted as the rear guard. It was a bright day, yet it was as cold as the night. They were not used to fighting in these bodies, but their lack of practice and technique was evened out by the increase in power.

They felt their senses being numbed by an immense pressure. It was already too late. The cloud had reached them, and Heartless were coming down like a never-ending torrent of rain.

Kairi pushed her way through, using brute force rather than tactics. Tactics were useless in a fight against this many enemies. Olette had both her hands full protecting herself and Naminé from behind. And even with their combined effort, they were slowly getting surrounded by a kind of Heartless Kairi had never seen before. The smallest ones were called lurkers, but these were like a bigger, deformed version of those.

"Buy me ten seconds, please, you two!" Naminé shouted while Olette took apart a whole group of Heartless with a series of powerful horizontal slashes. That they could do.

Kairi jumped back and shot a series of fireballs towards a few flying Heartless aiming for Naminé. No matter what, ten seconds was enough for a recitation spell. Kairi was feeling oddly excited and scared at the kind of powerful magic Naminé could unleash with her powers increased like this.

"_Praise to Lira, praise to Volt, I summon from thee the power of annihilation to destroy those that stand before me! Gungir!"_ In Naminé's hand a spear made of pure lighting formed. How she was even holding that was beyond Kairi's understanding, but that her life was as good as forfeit if she got hit by that thing was very clear to her.

Naminé waited for a second for Kairi to jump aside and threw the spear with unexpected power towards their front. It quickly expanded, becoming virtually a beam of energy cutting through the masses of Heartless. Before she knew what happened, Naminé had been grabbed by Olette, who was covered in cuts and bruises. She was carried away just like that, under Olette's arm, next her waist.

The spear of lightning cut a path through the Heartless, and Kairi and Olette, who was more or less occupied by carrying Naminé, pressed through with speed and brute force.

They soon reached the lowest level of the castle. A big hole gaped in the wall, one that hadn't been there before. Naminé really was crazy, unleashing a spell like that without second thought.

They were almost there. The Heartless seemed to have trouble attacking the castle, as if an invisible force was keeping them away. They _would_ get back home. They _would_ see everyone again.

"That is as far as you go."

A woman's voice called them back. The Heartless were running away, as if something they feared were coming. And Kairi could feel it. This was beyond mere terror.

A hooded figure slowly walked towards them, emerging from the ocean of Heartless. In her hand...she carried a Keyblade. And not just any old Keyblade—it was a black and perverted version of Kairi's Oathkeeper.

The woman was different from the other Organization members. Not only did she not attack right away or ambush them, she calmly walked towards them, one arm slowly moving to her hood, pulling on it, revealing her head and face. The three girls stared at her in terror.

That was Kairi's face. Her eyes. She looked just like her, except that her hair was different. It was black as the night.

"I wondered where that nostalgic feeling was coming from. You..." Pointing her black Keyblade at Kairi, the woman looked at her in confusion. "You should have died a long time ago. I don't believe in ghosts. So who are you?"

Kairi thought fast, disregarding the fact that this woman looked just like her. She had to find a way to get them out of here. Olette was still carrying Naminé, so an assault was out of the question. Useless, too, since she knew nothing of her strength. Not to mention that the Heartless would not idly stand by and watch.

For now she had to buy time. The longer she had to think, the better a plan she could come up with. "I am Kairi. Who are you, that you look like me?"

"That is not what I wanted to know. I know who you three are—Kairi, Naminé, and Olette. I know everything about you. I know how you are looking for a way out of this situation. There is none. If you attack me, the Heartless will overwhelm you. If you run, I will kill you."

Kairi gritted her teeth. Just who in the world _was_ this woman? "Then what do you mean, _who am I?_"

"I do not know how you died, but Lord Xemnas said that you were no longer part of this world. And there is nothing he does not know. So who are you? How did you get here?" The woman was apparently very confident that they had no way out, otherwise she would not keep on talking like this.

"I don't know how we got here, but we're about to leave," Kairi said, trying to distract her.

The woman lifted her Keyblade again and her expression changed to anger. "You will _not_."

"_Ruler of the eternal cold, Celsius!"_ Naminé rammed her Keyblade into the ground, surprising everyone except Olette.

"What? Celsius? But how?!" The woman jumped back. The ground below them, the Heartless, everything was quickly turning to ice. Before, a teenage Naminé without much training had frozen a few hundred square meters of the ocean. This spell was considerably stronger.

Kairi wasted no time. She leaped onto a large stone block, waited a split second for Olette to catch up, and made her way to the upper level entrance. Down below, the ground was freezing.

Naminé knew that they had at most a few minutes until the ice froze the entire castle. It was dangerous to summon Celsius' power, but she had felt confident that she would be able to control her with her increased power. She was wrong. Again, Celsius was going out of control.

"I didn't think you'd do that!" Kairi said while running. They were almost numb from the smell and the thick air of the bloodstained hall.

"I told her to cast something big as long as you two were talking. I knew you'd be surprised, but that woman was—" Olette stopped talking and running.

At the end of the hall, near the stairs, a gateway of darkness opened and the woman stepped through, now wielding two Keyblades. Her second one was snow white, but shaped like nothing Olette or Naminé had ever seen before. Kairi knew, though.

"Just who are you?!" Kairi yelled. They were quite in a pinch. There was no other way up there besides the stairs.

No answer. The woman rushed towards them and Olette dropped Naminé in a hurry while Kairi blocked the first horizontal slash with her own Oathkeeper. The woman was powerful. Kairi could feel the impact on her blade all the way to her wrists.

Three more horizontal slashes followed, and the woman finished by spinning around. The attack would have taken Kairi's head off if Olette hadn't rushed in and put both her Keyblades against the unknown woman's to block the attack. Olette had a slight upper hand in brute force, but she could tell the woman's technique was far superior.

The black-haired woman jumped back, turned slightly, and threw the black Keyblade at Olette, who avoided the attack by jumping to the side, rolling over, and getting up near a wall.

It was too late. The woman was already on her. Olette tried to block the attack, but suffered a deep cut on her left shoulder before Kairi attacked the woman with all her might, forcing her to evade.

Naminé saw that the ice was already at the entrance of the room. She had to do something. What she had in mind would be a gamble on Kairi's and Olette's abilities and trust, but she had to do it.

They were three versus one and they were still losing. Olette got back up, but was unable to use her left arm. Now the situation was even worse than before. Suddenly, the woman noticed that Naminé was casting something and rushed towards her with the intent to kill.

A loud sound of metal crashing into metal rang through the hall when the dark Oathkeeper hit the white one. But Kairi had her hands full blocking one blade. The woman didn't hesitate and aimed for Naminé's neck with her other Keyblade, but she failed. Olette jumped in, holding her other Keyblade firm and steady and blocking the white Keyblade's attack. Still, they were getting overpowered. Kairi was forced on her knees by pure brute strength, and so was Olette.

"_Jump!"_ Naminé shouted, and even though it seemed suicidal, Kairi and Olette obeyed and jumped to the side. In the blink of an eye, the woman's Keyblades roared through the air, and a lance of fire emerged from Naminé's hand.

Crying out in pain, Naminé suffered a deep wound on her waist and another on her right shoulder. But her spell had been a full hit too. The woman was yelling in pain, rolling over the freezing floor, her body scorched by a flame that refused to go out.

Olette dematerialized her other Keyblade, grabbed Naminé in the same manner as before, and ran as fast as she could up the stairs. Kairi was just a step behind them. They reached the upper level and without regards for anything, Kairi led the way to their goal, the portal.

Directing her Keyblade at it, she expected the portal to open for them. But nothing happened.

It couldn't be! Not after all of this! Kairi tried again, yet nothing happened. Refusing to give up, Kairi tried to forcefully activate the gateway even though it was extremely dangerous to do so. And yet, there was no reaction.

"We opened the gateway to here with all three of us. Let's try that!" Kairi turned around, slightly panicked. Directing Oathkeeper at the gateway, Olette let Naminé down, who was still in pain but managed to summon Monochrome. With Monochrome and Circle of Life joined, there was finally a change. The portal slowly opened.

"You will..._not leave._" The woman, still burning, her face distorted by blisters and her robe mostly burned away, was slowly walking towards them, wielding both Keyblades. Her eyes glared with fury.

The gateway opened moments before the woman reached them. The ice finally caught up to her and the legs of the woman froze to the ground, the fire finally dying out.

"_Lord...Xemnas..."_ the woman spat out before the power of Celsius froze her solid.

They had no choice. Without delay, they jumped into the gateway, leaving a world of terror and destruction behind.

They could not feel anything. They could feel everything. Sadness, anger, joy, hope, rage, jealousy, happiness, peace, excitement. Everything. Nothing. Who were they? They were themselves. Who were they? They were nobody. Where were they? Everywhere. Apart, together.

Darkness. Their mind empty. Light. Their bodies vanishing. Nothingness engulfing them. Death. Pain. Rebirth. Pain. Death. Pain. Rebirth. Pain. A never-ending circle.

Blood. Everywhere. Darkness eating the blood. Light eating the darkness. Blood eating the darkness. Chaos. Chaos. They are Chaos. Everything is Chaos. Nothing is Chaos.

Their bones breaking. Their flesh melting. Their mind destroyed. Their hearts empty. Their soul eaten.

Their life ending. Their life beginning. Dreaming and waking. Chaos all around. Time flying past. Time standing still. Dimensions wavering. Dimensions shifting. Dimensions falling apart.

They. Moving. Standing still. Their being everywhere. Seeing. Everything, Nothing. Light. Darkness. Nothingness.

Nothingness.

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

Nothing remained but pain. And then, everything ended.

End of Chapter XXI

End Note: I am still looking for an artist that might want to draw a few scenes from this story for me. Interests please write a message to me.


	22. Glory and Tragedy – Beyond Myself

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter

**XX II**

_Glory and Tragedy – Beyond Myself_

Darkness. The claws of beasts, their raging breath, the eyes that sparkle in the limitless black, giving birth to hate and death. No will, only thirst for destruction. A force not created by nature, but still innate to the universe. Beings as old as time itself. The envoy of chaos and pain. The end of all things.

The Heartless.

Towering over the immeasurable mass of Heartless devouring the world below him, Xemnas watched in absolute indifference. This mission was a failure as well. The Heartless were way too hard to control to reap the hearts of worlds. Contaminated, dirty, filthy—they were crawling over it, devouring it, destroying the last speck of the fabric that made the world.

Next to him was Saïx, bathing in the hate of the dying world, fascinated by the power the Heartless had as a whole. Next to Saïx were Luxord and Demyx. One was smiling in amusement, the other smiling for no particular reason.

"Lord Xemnas..."

They had started addressing him this way not too long ago. It made no difference to him. Titles were worthless and served purpose only to the weak and foolish.

"We will wait. Both our plans have failed, but it matters not. There are many paths for us to take." No laughter. No malicious smile. Only absolute certainty.

While everyone else remembered emotions from their days as humans, Xemnas did not. He was a cold, calculating monster that even Saïx would not dare anger. Xemnas had no need for emotions.

Opening a gate of darkness, Xemnas vanished and left the remaining Organization members behind.

"Xigbar." Luxord was playing with two dice in his left hand, trying to relax his nerves. They had taken a full assault on this world, and he had witnessed first hand the horrifying power Xemnas wielded. He was not wounded badly, but it was still an annoyance.

"What do you want, Luxord? I am not going to help you in your retribution against some silly children, Keybladers or not." Xigbar was in a fool mood. Xemnas was pushing him to hurry up with his research, but he was not Zexion.

Luxord threw him an icy glare. "Nobody asked you to. If I remember right, you got your ass kicked pretty badly by some wannabe ninja chick. So keep your mouth shut, fool." He paused, then took a deep breath. "This is the second world that's gone down. I am already bored of constant genocide. There is no risk."

Luxord looked over to Saïx, who was still watching as the spectacle of the world below them turned into nothingness. Demyx was already gone. Luxord could speak freely now, but not too loudly. Saïx had good hearing. _Too_ good.

"How is Xaldin?" Luxord asked. "When will you be finished with him?"

It was not compassion for Xaldin that woke his curiosity, but rather the chance to rise in power if he played his cards well. The chance to become as powerful as Xaldin or even Saïx. The chance to grasp power beyond his imagination.

Xigbar tried to remain cool, but Luxord could see that he was surprised. "Soon," he answered in a low voice. "You don't need to know more." He suddenly turned around and opened a gateway. "One day your gambles will be your doom, Luxord."

Xigbar's warning words were still lingering in the air once he had vanished.

Luxord watched the last moments of the world that had fallen prey to the darkness thanks to their power. It was too easy to massacre these lowly insects. He wanted revenge. He had let those silly little girls make a fool out of him. It was his own fault for taking them lightly, but he would not be satisfied until he had beaten them, violated them, and killed them. He would not go that far if not for the…punishment by Xemnas he had to suffer for his failure.

"Return to Oblivion, Luxord," Saïx commanded without even looking back. His face was covered in deep shadows of malice, his eyes feasting on the chaos below him. He did not want anyone disturb him while he did the one thing that still pleasured him. "That is an _order_."

Words absolute. Words that did not let leave place for objection. An order to vanish or face the consequences. And Luxord knew he did not stand a chance against Saïx.

Opening a portal and stepping through, Luxord entered the world of darkness—a world he was so familiar with and yet one that seemed so alien. He was not welcome here, and he did not want to be, either.

He still had questions. Xigbar was hiding something. But what? It was impossible to know what his Superior was planning…what he had ordered Xigbar to do. He was not their leader without reason. He was the most powerful of them all. If collecting hearts wasn't this inconvenient, there would be no need for these roundabout tactics and schemes.

Leaving the gateway, Luxord stood in Oblivion, or what was left of it. The attacks from those lowly humans from Hollow Bastion had caused a lot of damage. They still hadn't repaired all of it and never would. With Vexen and the others dead, there was no need. Wasted effort. There was only one beside Xaldin whose body was preserved.

Luxord walked past Demyx's quarters. That crazy idiot was playing around with his sitar again. Should he try and order him to do a recon mission on the world he had encountered those pesky little girls? No…he shouldn't disgrace himself any further.

"Xigbar." Luxord had finally reached the laboratory that Xigbar had remodeled. There was no need to ask. In a large test tube at the end of the room, lit by dim green light, Luxord saw what he wanted to see.

"I see you have been successful. What about the other?" Luxord walked behind Xigbar, who was deep in thought over various documents.

"I am busy, Luxord. Lord Xemnas gave me new orders. The other will not be completed until I have fulfilled his expectations. Now get lost."

That was definite. No matter what question he asked, Xigbar would ignore him. Luxord knew that much.

He gave the specimen in the test tube a closer look and found it to be frighteningly accurate. It perked his interest. Xigbar had come a long way in a short time. It was a shame that they had to…get rid of Zexion. He had been a brilliant mind. Luxord had liked him, as far as the members could like anything.

"Don't you have something to do? Get _out_." Xigbar threw one of his needles at Luxord, missing him by inches. Xigbar was under tremendous pressure from Xemnas. He had no time to waste.

Luxord took the hint and left without a word, annoyed at the impatience Xigbar was showing. Just what had the Superior in mind now? It was useless to attack worlds by themselves. Both approaches had failed—they just lead to the destruction of the world. He could still see the fields of bloody massacre that he caused. At first it had been thrilling, but now it was just like beating a cripple with a sword.

Returning to his quarters, Luxord sat down. His room was overflowing with things—dice, cards, hourglasses—but beside those, it was plain. The bed was just a simple silver frame with a plain white mattress and blanket. He was sick of its color. The whole place, all of Oblivion, was the smoky silver of nothingness.

Sick of it. So infinitely sick of it. He spent most of his time roaming other worlds, and wished he could leave now. But going now after he had just failed a mission would be bad. The Superior didn't care what they did when they weren't on missions as long as it didn't endanger their plans. Marluxia had been quite the fool to rebel against him.

Lying down, Luxord tried to remember what his Somebody had been like. He knew tiny bits of information regarding some of the members' pasts, but it was an unspoken rule to not talk or ask about those. Luxord watched his own hand, as if fascinated by the power he had.

He didn't understand what some of the rebels had been talking about. Getting a heart? Becoming human again? Ridiculous! Which kind of idiot would give up the power he had? As far as Luxord could tell, he hadn't aged. He didn't need things humans did. He was superior to those lowly insects. Yes…

He would crush them. Kill those little pests. Those Keybladers.

---Valiant Hearts---

A world between worlds. A dimension doesn't exist until recognized. It could seen, but was not sure if it really _was_. Alive? An existence? Human?

Before it, images. Of the distant past? The future? A time that hadn't come to pass? A prophecy? Who would know…who _wanted_ to know?

Then before it was the abyss, a flow of images shaking faith.

An eternal dark castle, immeasurable and blurred, made of shadows itself. The castle itself, looking at the horizon, with invisible eyes penetrating the fabric of space. On the horizon—light. Golden doors, with unnatural and beautiful marks. The doors were solid light. The frame of hope, towering over the dark castle.

Images. People. Keybladers. Heartless. A fight continuing for countless centuries, for countless ages. For all eternity, the clash between light and shadow. Voices. Growling. Howling. The raging breath of the monsters devouring the light. Dark dust staining the ground, further than any eye could see. People. Talking.

"_This is madness, Emilia! Did you not read the prophecy? _Alios mars elas rix! _Darkness beyond twilight. That is where you are heading!_"

Worlds. Changing. The flow of time, raging and escaping from the iron grip of two impossible powers fighting. Keyblader and Heartless dying alike. For each that fall, a thousand take their place. For a thousand that fall, the battlefield mourns. And yet the strife continues forever.

A war of unimaginable scale. A speech of courage. A warning.

"_True evil does not appear as darkness_

_True evil looks just like the light of justice_

_infiltrating your thoughts_

_corrupting your very being_

_until you yourself have become part of it_

_the true evil which is lurking in the shadow of justice."_

A new battle beginning. A woman with fiery red hair, familiar and alien, known and unknown, alive and dead, leading the warriors, slaying the beasts, cutting apart the darkness to become what they most feared—the annihilator of worlds.

Words, from nobody and everywhere. Penetrating the mind. A truth, older than the mind. Older than all worlds and even the doors of light and the eternal black castle. A voice, like old paper rustling in a gentle breeze, talking from within space itself. To anything. To nobody. Ever repeating, unheard.

"_Beneath the Heart, Light._

_Beneath the Light, Darkness._

_Beneath Darkness, Power._

_Beneath Power, the Heart."_

A power was given. To the Heartless. To Keybladers. A clash of powers destined to be and not to be. People crying, mourning, despairing, and yet living. Victim to emotion, the worst and most supreme of all gifts. Families. Clans. Worlds. Bonding and destroying themselves in hate, only to repeat the circle of endless war.

The dark castle. Five towers. The first, born before time, to be—only to die. A sacrifice. A warning. The message never forgotten. A truth hold dear for all eternity.

"_The Enemy of my Enemy is still my Enemy."_

The second tower. Guarded by nothing. An abandoned child in the pitch black night. Crying. Yelling. Screaming its last words before dying and being reborn endlessly.

"_Welcome Twilight._

_Welcome Blackness._

_Welcome Inky Night._

_Only in Darkness,_

_Can I see your Soul."_

The Keybladers. Desperate. Angry. Resolute. A few of them emerging to be legendary, leaders of the war, slaying thousands, millions of Heartless, their eyes cold as ice, their technique deadly, their heart on fire, their mind sharp as Death's scythe.

Their fight going on for centuries. The war creating what would come to hunt them. From nothingness they came, not human, not Heartless, but residing in the twilight of the worlds and shadows, waiting, quietly to take what they thought rightfully theirs.

"_If Light and Darkness are only illusions of our mind,_

_what does that make the nothingness of the Nobodies?_

_The Truth? A Lie?_

_We will never know for we are entitled to follow the illusions."_

The third tower. Hostage to its own being, guarded by itself, killed by itself, reborn by itself. Silent until the circle broken, Keybladers destroying it, leaving it in ruins forever, reborn never again, its dying words echoing through the pitch-black darkness for all time.

"_Down there it was tangled and dark._

_Down where the Darkness feasts on us._

_Down. Down. Down._

_It was there that we first recognized,_

_that we are naught but pawns in a game,_

_the most hated ones, forever screaming 'Eureka.'"_

The fourth tower. Two towers. One tower. Infinite towers. Nothingness. All of it and yet nothing. Made of light forged in darkness. Made of darkness forged in light. Ruler over everything and the lowest slave. Its command and plea heard by tyrant and pawn alone.

"_The Following statement is false:_

_The previous statement is true._

_Welcome to our mind."_

The end of all time. A spear of light and courage piercing the darkness. The begging of all time. Darkness engulfing the light and devouring it, growing from feeding on it. A conflict beyond the measures of time and space. A hatred running deeper than the bonds of the worlds.

The last tower. Gates of darkness. Warning words, promising words. Words to shake one's soul, to rip it out, chew on it and put it back in. To corrupt and destroy the pure, to take away the light and morals. The ultimate invitation to one's own doom.

"_Behold, for that behind this gates,_

_lies all you desire,_

_lies all you fear._

_Once stepped past,_

_there is no way back,_

_for there is nowhere you could go back to._

_Be one of us, be one of the legion._

_Behold, for this gates lead to infinite darkness."_

The images fading, last words echoing through the eternity that is the abyss. Words to change destiny. To lead one from doom to victory, and victory to doom. To reverse what is written.

"_Evil doesn't care."_

---Valiant Hearts---

Light. Her eyes hurt badly. Where was she? Was she alive? Her body hurt. Just trying to move hurt incredibly badly…like every nerve in her body had been put beyond its limits. Her _mind_ hurt. Kairi. Olette. Were they alive?

Slowly opening her eyes, Naminé felt her eyes sting badly from the sunlight. The ground was hard stone. _Familiar_ stone. But her mind was too chaotic right now to comprehend anything beside the need to look for the other two.

Something was in her hand. It was warm. Looking down, Naminé could see the ground and her left arm. Running down that arm was a little bit of blood. But that was not all. In her hand was another. Turning her head slightly, Naminé saw red hair. A face was on the ground, unmoving. But her hand was warm.

Kairi was alive. Naminé could feel it.

Turning her head as far as she could without passing out from pain, Naminé tried to find Olette. Nothing. She wasn't next to Kairi, and Naminé didn't have the power to turn around.

Voices. She could hear voices from the distance.

Now that she thought about it, the ground was unusually rough. Holding Kairi's hand and taking a deep breath, her consciousness faded away again.

---Valiant Hearts---

"They seem to be fine, considering the crater in the ground left from the impact. It's been almost a week since they left and the portal exploded. I wonder where they were that long."

Earlier, in the late afternoon, an explosion shook Hollow Bastion's foundations. When they went to investigate what it was, they found the three girls lying in a crater several feet in diameter.

None of them had regained consciousness so far. Rydia had taken a look at them since Aerith had been a bit run down with stress and worry. All three of them were brought to Aerith's house since they seemed physically fine aside from a bit of bleeding and some scratches.

Now, Rydia was sitting on the couch in the living room of the house. Tifa was standing behind her, and Leon and Cid were on the opposite side of the room. Yuffie was in the room Olette was resting in, watching over her and waiting for her to wake up.

Aerith was watching over the other two. The group had found Kairi and Naminé holding hands. Their grip had been so tight that they just laid them down in the same bed. It was as if they refused to let go of each other.

Leon had been the first on the scene and had noticed that all three of them were dressed in oversized, randomly-put-together clothes. No one had no idea why they were wearing them. At any rate, they wouldn't find out until the girls woke up.

"I am eager to know what happened to them, but it might be dangerous to push them now," Leon said. "I will give them some time before they have to report. Tifa, tell me when they regain consciousness. I'm going to get some sleep." He took a deep breath, sighing. "I'm relieved they're back."

Finally, he left the room.

Aerith came downstairs. They had arranged for shifts for looking after the girls. It was late in the evening now—over six hours had passed since they had picked up the girls. They could do nothing but wait.

With a silent exchange of nods, Tifa walked up to Aerith and stopped her for a moment by hugging her briefly before heading upstairs. Tifa was usually embarrassed when showing affection in front of others, but Aerith's tired and stressed face was getting to her.

It was awfully quiet. They had so many questions, but nobody had answers.

"Nothin' ya can do but wait this one out." Cid opened a window, allowing the cold but fresh night air to come in. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

Aerith was leaning on the wall next to the stairs, closing her eyes. She had slept terribly during the last week. In fact, she had spent a few nights wide awake. Tifa had always been right by her side. They were both exhausted.

Yuffie was no different. As she worried about Olette, she had spent a few nights on the roofs, looking at the crater the portal's explosion had made. Nothing. The area was still off-limits. The portal itself seemed extremely unstable. Cid had tried to open the portal by force again, but it just caused another explosion. Whatever was causing the portal's instability was still in effect.

Yuffie tried to stay awake as she leaned with her back against the wooden frame of the lower bunk of the bed Olette was resting in. Yuffie could finally relax a bit, knowing that the girl was safe. The past week had been one big nightmare.

She had always known it could come to this. She was aware of the dangers Olette and the others were putting themselves in. How many times had they come close to death now? Yuffie knew it was wrong, but she instinctively wished for Olette to stop. Stop being a Keyblader, and to stay with her.

But Yuffie could never ask Olette to do that. Of all things, asking her to stop and sit idly by was the one thing she couldn't do. Yuffie had never worried this much about someone before. It was a horrible feeling to stay behind, unable to do anything, not knowing if Olette were still alive, if she were well.

How much longer would it be until one of them died? Until Yuffie could no longer hide the despair she was feeling? She loved Olette. It was so painful to think about losing her.

Yuffie closed her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest. This was making her crazy. If Olette hadn't come back, what would she have done? Could she ever have dealt with it, as she was doing now?

Something hit her head—it was the hand of the sleeping girl behind her. Quickly turning around, Yuffie could see Olette reluctantly opening her eyes, trying to understand where she was.

"Olette! Can you hear me? Olette!" Yuffie leaned over a confused-looking Olette, trying to get her to recognize her. As Yuffie waved her hand in front of her face, she could see Olette's pupils following, but her mind couldn't seem to keep up.

With a sudden sting of pain, Olette recalled what she had seen, recalled how she had died and been reborn endless times. The pain, the pain, the infinite pain running through her body—it left an eternal mark on her mind.

Suddenly breaking out in cold sweat, Olette tried to get up, but it was too late. Her eyes rolled back and the full vision came back to her. The fight, the bloodshed, the horrors of what she had seen. Leaning over the edge of the bed, Olette felt like vomiting, but nothing came. She breathed heavily as the images raced through her mind.

Yuffie could only watch in horror as the ghostly pale girl looked as if she were about to collapse again. She quickly grabbed Olette by her shoulders and pushed her back down. Olette seemed so light—there was no resistance. And then Yuffie looked directly into Olette's eyes and instinctively pulled back. Those were the eyes of a person who had seen unimaginable horrors.

Yuffie leaned down and hugged the terrified girl, trying to calm her down. And it really worked. Slowly, the visions in Olette's head faded.

A single tear rolled down Olette's cheek as she finally found herself safe. No more visions, no more distorted images, no more. Only Yuffie.

"Don't let go," Olette whispered, and calmed down considerably. Her breathing was already going back to normal.

"What just happened to you?" Yuffie was honestly frightened now.

"We…" Olette opened her eyes wide. "Where are Kairi and Naminé?" she asked immediately, trying to get up. "Are they okay? Did they make it? What…time is this? When did we vanish?" Olette had a thousand questions.

"Uh, it's late. I don't know what time exactly. It's been a week since you three vanished in that portal. Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was?!" Yuffie almost shouted. She looked at Olette with watery eyes.

"Are the other two okay? Do we…look any different?" Olette finally managed to pull free from Yuffie's tight embrace and looked down at herself. Her hands, arms, legs. It seemed like they were back in their own bodies. In their sixteen-year-old bodies! She had to see the others. Had to see for herself if they were okay!

"Kairi and Naminé are in their room." Yuffie was worried. What if they were also experiencing whatever Olette had just gone through? Against her better judgment, Yuffie helped the brunette girl up and they made it to the door.

Olette could barely walk—not because she had no energy or was injured, but because she had gotten used to her adult body. Relying on Yuffie felt a bit odd. But why was she even thinking about that?

In the hallway, Yuffie suddenly remembered that she should have informed the others sooner. "Aerith! Come up! Olette's awake!" She knew she should have called for her as soon as Olette opened her eyes, but things had been so chaotic that she simply hadn't thought of it until now.

Aerith came right up, followed by Tifa and Leon. Most of the others were standing around the stairs down below. "What is she doing up? Yuffie, what are you _doing?_" Aerith was immediately by their side, trying to take Olette from Yuffie, intent on getting her back to bed.

Olette flailed out with her arms, looking at Aerith with fiery eyes. "I have to see the others! They could wake up any second. You better be there if they do!" Olette seemed to be trying her hardest to make her way alone to Kairi's room. She still looked terribly pale, but if something was going to happen to Kairi and Naminé…

Aerith didn't know what to say. She had never seen the girl so determined, and neither had Tifa or Yuffie. It must have been something really important if she had to force herself to walk and see them at a time like this, so Aerith went to open the door and Yuffie went back to supporting Olette.

Nothing could prepare them for what happened next.

A loud crashing sound came from inside the room. Aerith threw open the door and stepped in just in time to see something incredibly odd. Kairi was facing the door, her Keyblade drawn. Behind her on the ground was Naminé, so frightened that she was unable to move.

"Don't come any closer, you monsters!" Kairi shouted. She seemed furious. A sudden pain in her head forced her to divert her attention, and she clutched at her head. Her breathing was abnormally fast, and both of them were pale as ghosts.

With a roar of terror, Kairi started to slash and hack at empty air, her eyes wildly looking through the room, not even seeing the others. She was out of control—completely swallowed by the vision inside her head. Kairi slashed apart invisible foes until her Keyblade got stuck in her drawer.

That was enough for Olette. She focused her whole energy in her legs and made one big jump through the room, grabbing Kairi and crashing with her to the ground.

"Wake up!" Olette yelled, and slapped the redhead.

It worked. The madness left Kairi's eyes and she found herself on the ground beneath Olette, who was sitting on top of her, looking relieved about something. The Heartless. They were gone! Had it just been a dream?

"You saw it. Didn't you? Saw the war! The Keyblader. The Heartless. I saw it too!" Olette felt like she was about to pass out, but she couldn't allow that just yet. The sudden push of her limits had been too much—but first she needed to confirm one thing.

"We are back. We made it. We were only gone for a week! Kairi…are you okay?" Olette was dizzy. She didn't even have the energy to move away from Kairi.

"_Now_ I'm okay." Kairi was tired. Now that she could remember everything—the pain, the vision—she felt incredibly tired again. "Thanks to you."

Those were the last words Olette heard. She passed out, falling right on top of Kairi, who was just too exhausted to mind. Smiling from the bottom of her heart for a brief moment, she also went back to sleep, this time a deep, dreamless one.

Aerith was already looking after Naminé. As far as she could tell, she was only scared to death, not delusional or hallucinating like Kairi. She didn't have enough energy to get up or even talk, and Aerith picked her up and put her back to bed. Physically, she seemed fine, but Aerith knew that something extraordinary must have messed with them to make even Kairi hallucinate like that.

Tifa pulled the unconscious Olette from Kairi while Yuffie just stood there, looking bewildered and helpless. With a sigh, the woman left Kairi to Aerith and carried Olette back to her room.

By the time Tifa got back to the living room, Yuffie was gone. Aerith was still checking on the girls and watching over them, so it became Tifa's job to inform everyone—to tell them they had woken up, but that they were still not in the condition to even _walk_, much less answer questions.

"But they seem fine. A good night's rest will do the trick, I think. I suggest we all go and get some sleep now." Tifa yawned. She felt relieved now that she knew the girls were all okay. Well, okay _enough_.

"I agree. I'll come by tomorrow to check on them," Leon noted. Upon seeing Tifa's angry face, he added, "Don't worry, I won't bombard them with questions." Even though he was harsh on most of the committee members, he deeply cared for his friends.

Cid ruffled his hair and left together with Leon after wishing everyone a good night. Rydia made her way home as well. The living room seemed suddenly very empty, but it didn't bother Tifa. Aerith was waiting at the top of the stairs.

"They're fine, but they must've been through something horrible. Naminé was conscious but couldn't even talk. She was like she was traumatized." Aerith seemed worried, but not too worried to hide how tired she was.

Tifa grabbed her hand and pulled her with her towards their bedroom. "You can continue to worry about them tomorrow."

---Valiant Hearts---

Now that the three girls were safe, each morning felt a bit unreal. The images still haunted them in their sleep. Was it a vision? The prophecy of a coming war? Whatever it was, they would have to deal with it if it came to be. There was no use brooding over it.

They had spent more than two days in bed, resting both from physical and mental injuries. Having that much time to think, they all realized several things.

Kairi felt she could not go on like this. It was one defeat after another. Each time they just narrowly escaped death. What were they fighting for if all their results were failures? What were they training for? The enemy was always one step ahead of them, scheme after scheme ready for them.

They all felt the same. Hadn't it just been luck that they escaped this time? What about the next time? They knew that something lurked in the shadows ahead, something indescribably evil.

Yuffie caught up on lost time, spending her days from morning to evening in Olette's room. Half of the time, much to Olette's annoyance, she was not just in the same room but also in the same _bed_, clinging to Olette as if she were a pet that had been lost and suddenly returned home.

"Yuffie, I know you missed me, I missed you too…but—" Olette turned slightly pale. "Get. _Off_. Me." She kicked Yuffie quite violently until she finally could breathe again. "Now I know why some people say love is a poison!"

Yuffie sulked for a second in the corner of the bed, just to crawl back to her girlfriend a bit later. As Yuffie arranged herself next to Olette, Olette gave her a warning glare. "I am still injured. Don't try anything." She didn't need to specify _what_ exactly. It was clearly visible in Yuffie's eyes.

"I have no idea what you mean."

What a blatant lie! Olette snorted and started to laugh. She rolled over, continuing to laugh until her stomach hurt. Yuffie really had gotten worse at lying. Or had Olette gotten better at detecting them?

"But I guess I can give you a little service." Olette moved over Yuffie and slowly moved down, kissing her girlfriend. Yuffie immediately laid her arms around the brunette and pulled her down. After a few tries and some fighting to get free, an out-of-breath and gasping Olette freed herself from the horny girl. "I said _little_, you sex-crazed thing!"

Yuffie just smiled happily and licked her lips.

"Somehow I think I should stay here…who knows what you'll do to me at your place!" Olette rolled her eyes, but the desired effect didn't take place. Yuffie was absurdly cool about it.

"My place is a…bit messy. I'm gonna ask Tifa to let me stay in this room with you." Yuffie averted her eyes when she said "bit" and Olette mentally took a few steps back. If even Yuffie said it was messy, it was either filled to the ceiling with things, or the whole place was burning and shooting rainbows.

The Keybladers were only a room apart, but it seemed like there were worlds between them. Olette knew that Kairi had her own problems to deal with. One failure after another. If the Heartless alone weren't enough, now they had the Organization to deal with. In many ways, her journey was only getting harder.

The bliss of Olette's belief in peace was long gone. The Heartless weren't just a failed experiment of a mad scientist. They weren't a virus that was infecting worlds. They were just the shadow counterpart of hearts themselves. And Kairi knew she could not blame her failures on facts like that.

But how? How could they beat the foes standing before them? How to spoil their unknown scheme? No one knew much about the enemy, and while it might have been possible for some of them to be killed by the united power of their small stronghold, there were apparently still many left.

Olette had to get stronger. Not just for herself, but for everyone around her. To protect her world. Her friends. Her family. To protect the ones she loved. To protect Naminé.

The anguish that rushed through her felt disgusting. She felt like she was peeking into Kairi's thoughts and emotions. Since Olette had been close to Kairi for a long time now, she knew that Kairi blamed herself. But nothing Olette could say would help remedy that. So she didn't say anything.

At times like these, Olette felt powerless. Why was there nothing she could do for her? She wanted to shoulder some of the blame, but Kairi always took all of it onto herself. Sometimes Olette wondered if she could last, if one day she broke under the burden. Before that day came, Olette would find a way. Find a way to break down this wall of unfair responsibility.

Days came and passed. After four days of "imprisonment" as Tifa jokingly called it, they were finally allowed to go out for the first time. Leon had been patient with his call for a report, but he was at his limit now. The same day they were allowed to leave the house, he called them in for a report.

It was detailed and painful. Everyone couldn't believe what they heard. Cid was excited about the idea of a gateway leading two ways on the time axis as opposed to the space axis, and he blurted out a lot of technical things nobody understood.

Kairi told everyone about how they aged, how they were different from before. Even though it was painful to remember those few days, she didn't leave out a single detail.

Finally she got to the day they found the logbook. Kairi was as pale as a ghost after she finished telling everyone about what they had found written in it, and the meeting room went silent as everyone tried to stomach what they had heard—absolute destruction.

Aerith was one of the most shocked. Seconds after hearing what happened, she tried to reconstruct what could have caused the desertification. Only really powerful magic could have been the source of such a phenomenon, and Tifa figured as much. Aerith was outside, pale and staring into the air when Tifa joined her.

"It sounds like a horror vision of the future." Tifa just casually stood next to her partner. She wasn't looking good, either. Kairi had just told her about the entry that described how Tifa died.

"Would…would things really go that way? Would they end like that? This is the first time I've ever been afraid of my own powers…and afraid of the future." Aerith was badly agitated; she was trembling. She was genuinely frightened by her magic talents.

Tifa gently pulled the frightened woman close and laid both arms around her, trying to ease her worries. At last, the trembling stopped. Tifa could feel small little drops of cold on her chest. "It seems like it's about to rain…" She patted Aerith's back, knowing it was all she could do.

Cid sat alone in a corner near the stairs leading to the next district. He was smoking a single cigarette, looking at the smoke that soon dispersed into the air. From what Kairi told him, he at least died in a heroic manner. He smiled a melancholy smile. "Goin' out with a bang, huh…doesn't sound too shabby."

Yuffie was alone on the roof, looking over the town. All of this, turned into ruins and desert. She couldn't possibly imagine how Olette had felt, finding out everyone was dead. Kairi told her that Leon, in the future, saw her die—slashed in half by some monsters from the Organization. And Olette was fighting against them.

Leon was sitting against a wall in the back room of the house in complete darkness. His future self had failed. Failed to protect anyone. To protect their town, even their world. They had trusted him with the fate of the world, and he had failed them. How many more times would he have to go through this? How many more times would evil just take everything from him?

He grabbed the pendant he always wore and thought of things he had lost. Of her face. Of the one face he would never forget, never as long as he was alive.

In iron solitude, Leon looked at the ceiling. "No more. I will not allow a future like that to come true." He would not make the same errors twice. He would never lose one of his friends like that again.

Holding his pendant firm in his left hand, Leon stood up. "I will protect them." He walked to the door that led back to the main room, then turned around one last time.

"Rinoa…"

---Valiant Hearts---

The report now finished, everyone was dismissed. Each of them needed some more time alone. Kairi, Naminé, and Olette were the last ones in the room when everyone left.

"What do we do now?" Olette directed her question at Kairi. Initially they had been on their way to another world when the Destructia Incident, as Leon dubbed it, had happened.

"Nothing. Leon said that we'll remain here for the time being. No training." Kairi turned around and her serious expression meant that she wasn't joking. "We should spend as much time with the people we love as we can. You two saw what could happen. I don't want any of us to have regrets on the next mission." Kairi was rarely this straightforward.

Without waiting for a reply, the redhead left. Naminé quickly ran after her and left Olette alone, but at the door she turned around once to see the lonely Olette sitting in the now-dark house. Naminé felt a sting in her chest. This wasn't right…

"Our loved ones, huh…it's funny for _you_ to say that, Kairi." Olette whispered to herself.

Olette stood up and walked to the door, then paused for a moment. "Come out, Yuffie. You're creeping me out, you stalker." She looked around. Olette knew Yuffie would not leave her alone.

"You're really getting sharp." Yuffie jumped down from the roof and stood behind her, slightly annoyed she was found so easily. But given that Olette spent so much time with her…

"Let's go home. I'm tired." Olette just wanted a good night's sleep. Maybe things would look a bit brighter the next day. She wasn't really in the mood for Yuffie's teasing, but she was somewhat used to it by now.

Olette walked out the door and went to turn right and noticed only after a few steps that Yuffie was still standing behind, all confused. "What's wrong? I really don't want to go anywhere. Sorry, Yuffie, not today."

"I wasn't joking when I said it's messy. I've been crashing at Cid's place since the day before you came back."

Olette literally took a few steps back. Just what in the world had Yuffie done to her apartment? "Did you blow up the fridge or something?"

Yuffie just smiled and scratched her chin.

"_Seriously?!_" Olette shouted, followed by a heavy sigh.

Olette walked back to Tifa and Aerith's place, followed by the black-haired girl. The room next to Kairi's was big enough for two, so it was possible…but thinking about how Naminé spent every night with Kairi annoyed her somewhat.

The door was open, and it seemed weird to knock after staying here for so long. Aerith was sitting on the couch, Tifa using her as a lap pillow. They didn't seem to be in the best of moods. It was rather…gloomy.

"I know this is going to sound weird…anyway." Olette coughed and took a deep breath to relax. "Yuffie kind of…did something to prevent us from staying at her place. Can we stay here for the time being?"

Olette knew that Aerith would probably clash with Yuffie because of her total lack of order, but where else could they stay? Cid's place wasn't exactly…safe.

"What do you think, Tifa?" Aerith looked down at her partner, who seemed to be deep in thought all of a sudden. She looked at Olette, then at Yuffie. Then she closed her eyes and waved with her hand.

"No. Yuffie's too much of a bother." She got the intended effect. Yuffie seemed to be really offended.

With a quick pinch, Aerith had Tifa hissing in pain. "You were just joking, _right?_"

Aerith liked teasing Yuffie once in a while, but Tifa usually went overboard. She really didn't know how to hold back.

"Ouch, Aerith, wait, that hurts!" Tifa was trying to get up, but Aerith had her completely under control.

"You _were_ just joking. Am I right, _dear?_" The last word was drawn out so long and in such a hissing voice that Tifa quickly nodded, afraid of what punishment awaited her if she didn't comply.

"So that's that. Yuffie, I am going to throw you out if you cause chaos like at your own place. I remember quite clearly what a messy person you are!" Aerith warned the ninja.

Yuffie was about to say something but got her mouth covered by Olette's hand. "Thank you, Aerith. I'll see that it doesn't turn out badly. Right, Yuffie?" She looked at her partner, who had turned several colors and who now seemed to be trying to yell through the hand.

"She says yes." Olette smiled at Aerith and dragged her girlfriend away, up the stairs. She should tell Kairi and Naminé that she was staying there with Yuffie for the time being.

Speaking of the devil, both girls came down the stairs just as Olette started thinking about how she should deal with Kairi. There were still some…issues left to deal with.

"I didn't know ninjas could change colors. How funny," Naminé commented upon seeing Olette and Yuffie. It made the Keyblader realize that she was _still_ covering Yuffie's mouth. Yuffie herself had stopped struggling. Olette let her go, and Yuffie gasped and took one deep breath after another.

"You almost got me killed there, you brute!" Yuffie said, and turned around.

Olette plain ignored her act and turned to Kairi and Naminé. "We are…well. We're going to stay in the empty room for the time being, because Yuffie is too stupid to keep her apartment in order." Olette said it in such a way that made it quite obvious she was mad that Yuffie had finally reached the most extreme level of mess possible in her own apartment.

"Hey! Take that back." Yuffie yelled, much to the amusement of Naminé.

"Well, I don't mind, but…are you two gonna be okay?" Kairi looked at the arguing couple with questioning eyes. They were every bit as bad as Tifa and Aerith, if not worse.

Amidst all the chaos, as Tifa and Aerith were having a very…_serious_ discussion about teasing people too much, someone knocked on the door.

Aerith looked through the window from where she was sitting and saw Rydia standing outside, carrying a big bag. It was quite late by now, so what exactly…?

"It's open!" Aerith shouted, and Rydia looked through the window and waved to Aerith. The room was rather full by now. Aerith and Tifa were on the couch, Kairi and Naminé were still standing on the stairs, watching Yuffie and Olette argue about something no one understood, and now Rydia was standing between the fronts.

"Oh, you're here too, Olette. I was looking for you at Yuffie's place, but there was nobody there…and Yuffie, what exactly…was that…smell?" Rydia was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Hearing that, Olette gave Yuffie a very serious "this is not over yet" glare and walked towards the green-haired woman.

"It's just…Yuffie doing her usual nonsense. Don't question it, you won't like the answer." Olette sighed and noticed the big bag that Rydia was carrying. "You brought something?"

"Oh. Yes, I finished the clothes I was making for everyone. I started working on them after King Mickey brought you back. It was a lot of work!" Rydia seemed quite proud of herself. Kairi and Naminé had followed and the three girls were now standing around Rydia.

Yuffie was left alone in a corner, sulking over the fact that Olette always turned her attention completely towards Kairi and Naminé whenever they showed up. It was unfair of her. And the worst was, it seemed like Olette thought that was normal. It really pissed her off.

"I still need to do the final enchantment, but you need to wear these to let the spell fixate on you. Who'll go first?" Rydia was worried that Naminé wanted to go first. Her final enchantment would be very…difficult in comparison.

"I'll go first," Olette said, and she looked over to the corner where Yuffie was glaring over at her. "If you peek, you'll see just how much of a _brute_ I am." Olette was obviously mad that Yuffie had called her that, and the sparkling in her eyes just confirmed that.

"You can't wear anything below the clothes, or else the enchantment won't work. Don't worry, underwear doesn't count as wearing something." Rydia smiled at the girls' surprised faces.

Suddenly, Rydia was attacked from behind. Two strong arms wrapped around her—but that wasn't the problem. The hands had landed directly on her chest. Tifa had sneaked behind her and was _groping_ Rydia.

"Why did we never get clothes from you, huh? Where are ours?" Tifa said, and continued to grope a horribly embarrassed, frightened and shrieking Rydia.

Kairi took a few steps back and so did Naminé and Olette. Behind Tifa was Aerith, who was very, _very_ slowly coming closer. Kairi had the unpleasant feeling that they were about to witness something terrible.

Rydia finally got loose and backed up against the wall, her crossed arms in front of her chest. Her wide eyes were staring at Tifa. Said woman had just noticed that Aerith was emitting a rather…dangerous aura. Judging that staying was most likely a very bad idea, Tifa took one last look at Rydia and licked her lips deliberately so that Rydia was clearly able to see it.

Tifa then made a quick departure, leaving the house through the front door before Aerith could catch her. Kairi thought that an angry Aerith was every bit as dangerous as someone from the Organization—if not worse. At least, _she_ was feeling very, very unwell in her presence right now.

"Kairi. Naminé. Olette. Yuffie. Rydia. When you see Tifa, tell her…that there is _punishment_ waiting for her." Aerith's voice was slow and somewhat creepy. Everyone nodded quickly and watched the woman smile in a very unpleasant and villainous manner before she left the house.

"I just saw my life passing before my eyes…" Olette said, taking a deep breath.

"Me too…" Kairi added, and realized she was sweating.

"I wonder if Tifa also likes Rydia in addition to Aerith," Naminé said, causing Rydia to give her a shocked and frightened look.

What the hell was wrong with everyone in this house? Was there some invisible aura that turned everyone living here into some sort of lesbian? At least the girls didn't seem to be as bad as Tifa. The image of Tifa looking at her and licking her lips was branded in Rydia's mind. She would have nightmares about this for weeks.

"A-anyway…the clothes…" Rydia stuttered, and asked Olette to follow her to the bathroom.

---Valiant Hearts---

The day ended with Tifa staying out late and sleeping on the couch, Aerith being too dangerous to talk to, and the Keybladers getting new outfits with personal enchantments. Rydia was so tired after doing the spells that she went straight home. At least, that was she _said_. Kairi thought that she was mainly fleeing from Tifa.

The night passed, and Hollow Bastion moved on. The news of the future was kept strictly confidential. It was branded in their minds, yet the group refused to just give up. They would change the future. A future like that was not acceptable.

Knowing what could happen, a few people had their own ideas of what to do. Leon had a very long and detailed talk with Cid. Not much about the actual attack was recorded, but from what Kairi told them, the city's defenses had been useless. Even if it meant spending a lot of time and money, Leon was determined to come up with new ideas and pull through. Cid was overjoyed by that idea.

Aerith and Tifa decided that there was something they should be able to do. For the time being, they had friends take over their bar. Knowing that they couldn't really teach any more techniques or strategies to the girls, they took a different approach.

"I'm really not sure about this, Tifa…"

Olette was wearing the new outfit that Rydia had designed for her. It provided some protection and was still easy to move in, plus there was a small amount of lingering support magic embedded in the clothes, which helped lessen the damage from fighting. The outfit was made up of long black jeans (not too tight and not too wide) and a tight orange shirt with a black vest on top of it. The look was completed by long laced boots which were a deep dark gray. Olette thought the clothes looked rather cool.

Tifa was stretching, warming up. She had (kind of forcefully) taken Olette hostage and had brought her to their old training grounds. "Even if I can't teach you any more, you can still learn some things from me by fighting against me," she reasoned.

While Olette wanted to disagree, it did make sense. She lacked combat experience that wasn't a plain old fight for survival.

"Here I come!" Tifa yelled out, and instantly vanished from Olette's field of view. Instantly summoning both Keyblades, Olette sensed something behind her and instinctively turned around and blocked with both blades crossed. Something caused an impact and the force drove her back, her feet leaving grind marks in the ground.

Tifa had closed in on her in a single moment and had attacked her with full power. Olette's wrists were feeling slightly numb and her arms were shaking. If she had taken that hit _undefended_…

Tifa and Olette were in the same branch of fighting, but there was a huge gap in power and skill between them. The least Tifa could do was to provide situations where Olette could accumulate experience and develop her own tricks.

"You better be ready for this!" Tifa was up to something. Speeding towards Olette, she jumped and came straight at Olette. It was impossible for Olette to win a straight battle of brute force. Tifa was in the air and ready to take her out for real.

Olette threw Circle of Life in Tifa's direction, but tried to aim at her legs. Once she immobilized Tifa, she wouldn't be a threat—but that was too simple. Tifa hit the sword with her bare fist and shattered it into pieces. The sword rematerialized in Olette's hands. So it wasn't beyond Tifa to even temporarily destroy a Keyblade's form!

Olette jumped backwards, narrowly escaping the impact that left a small crater on the ground. The hit caused a dust cloud and Olette backed up—but thinking herself safe was an error. Several big rocks suddenly came flying towards her from the cloud, and Olette had her hands full defending against the rocks with her Keyblades.

She ran to the side, trying to evade Tifa's line of sight from inside the cloud, and tried hard to think of a way to counter. Olette was at an enormous disadvantage in ranged combat. Tifa was clearly more experienced here. And Tifa could overpower her in close combat. So…

The time for thinking was over. With incredible speed, Tifa shot out of the cloud, trying to hit Olette, who parried every hit with her Keyblades. Jumping back, Olette finally noticed that Tifa had driven her into a corner. She wouldn't be able to evade or deflect the next blow easily now, so there was no choice but to take it head on!

Olette readied herself, took a steadfast stance, and waited for Tifa to attack.

And the attack came. Tifa closed in at high speed, using her full power to hit the two crossed blades. Brute force collided with brute force. Olette gritted her teeth. This was demanding everything she had. Tifa was still applying power, trying to crush her defense and punch her into the wall behind her.

Olette's wrists were going numb. She just couldn't withstand this much power. Was this woman even human? And how did Aerith manage to keep a monster like this in check?!

Olette was at her limit. Her footwork was nowhere was good as Tifa's and she was losing ground with every second.

Tifa grinned and raised her second fist. Olette went pale. That bitch could fight with _both hands?_ Now that was really unfair. Now every one of her advantages was overpowered by Tifa!

"It's way too early in the battle for you to be thinking so much!" Tifa said, and hit with her second fist, destroying both Keyblade forms but stopping before she hit Olette. The dual wielder, now on her knees, was separated from Tifa's fist by not even two inches.

The fist relaxed its form and changed its shape to a helpful hand, one that asked Olette to take the help in getting up. "That wasn't bad. I wasn't going with the intent to kill you, but I was using my full force. To be able to keep up as long as you did is not bad."

Tifa grinned and patted Olette on the back. "But you've still got a ways to go if you think you can spend so much time in a fight thinking about your enemy. Want to go and see how Naminé is doing?"

Tifa already knew that this short a fight was all she could put Olette through for now. The Keyblader's hands were still shaking very slightly, and so were her legs. She first needed more stamina and endurance, but those things would come with time.

"Maybe…we shouldn't fight here." Olette turned around. There was a hole in the ground, some parts of a wall had been destroyed by flying rocks, and there was sharp shards of rocks everywhere. It wasn't exactly a safe place anymore.

"Aerith will have my head…" Tifa sighed upon looking at the results of their short sparring match.

On another side of the town, at the canyon, Aerith was busy with something else. Tifa's idea was a good one—to teach them about combat was one thing, but to let them experience it was something else. Aerith couldn't fight in town, since magic users caused a lot of destruction in narrow areas, so they were back at the canyon.

"I won't use summoning magic against you. Not yet. But I will use my full power, so give it all you have, Naminé." Aerith at least had the decency to warn the girl. She knew that Tifa was a bit rough in her methods, but training this way would be a good experience for Olette.

"Let's start!" Aerith said, and moved her staff in front of herself. Naminé had never seen Aerith use a staff before, so she didn't know what to expect, but Aerith had a strong tendency towards fire and lightning. Whatever was coming, Naminé could block that attack.

"_Let the souls that sleep be awakened…Dark Mist!_" Aerith launched her first attack and surprised Naminé by using incantation magic right at the start of a battle. If she hadn't been taken by surprise, Naminé could have countered her spell.

A dark mist, like the spell's name, flowed straight over the ground. It was chilling and seemed to suck up the dew from the morning. The younger mage used ice magic to create a platform under herself, providing a higher standpoint.

Naminé was wearing the same protective clothing Olette had gotten from Rydia, but hers was more geared towards protection than mobility. Her outfit consisted of a dress that looked like something right out of a book. It had a fitted bodice and a very wide and long skirt that reached to her ankles. The half-boots that came with the outfit were a perfect match. Rydia was still working on a hat. The entire outfit was infused with protective magic, which stayed in effect as long as Naminé had magic energy.

Aerith had vanished while Naminé had been busy creating her platform. Naminé looked around, but Aerith was nowhere to be seen. Naminé closed her eyes and tried to feel the magic energy. With a shock, she realized that the entire canyon was full of lingering magic thanks to the mist. It was the perfect disguise for a mage fighting another mage.

Something was odd, though. Naminé acted purely on instinct when she used ice magic to create barriers around herself. Seconds later, several fireballs that seemed to come from nowhere impacted on the shields, causing them to explode violently. Naminé had no choice but to jump down into the mist, taking cover from the flying shards.

"_Thundaga!_" Aerith was somewhere to her right.

Suddenly, Naminé was violently shocked and hit by electricity. But it was not the spell itself that hit her—the mist had converted the electrical charge and stunned her. Thank God Naminé was wearing her protective gear. It would've ended badly otherwise.

Naminé was unable to aim with the mist floating around, but she had an idea. Behind her was the ice platform. Directing Monochrome at it, Naminé used a full-power gravity spell to turn the ice into a gigantic gravitational force. And it worked! The mist flowed towards the ice block, condensing around it.

She could finally see why she hadn't been able to spot Aerith. The mist was not just a conductor for energy, it was also magic that caused hallucinations. It was, in truth, a lot higher than she thought—easily six feet.

Aerith was not too far away. She was standing still, casting something. Incantation magic again! This time, Naminé wouldn't let her complete her spell. "_Fira!_"

It was all she needed, as a medium-sized fireball hurled at Aerith would force her to abandon her spell. But it failed. A few meter short of her, the fireball impacted into something invisible.

"A super-thin ice wall?!" Naminé needed to do something quick! Given the time Aerith had to cast this spell, it must've been powerful. She had to—

"…_and halt the flow of life! Shiva!_" Aerith looked at Naminé with a victorious, confident smile. The ground before her was freezing. Ice crystals formed and began to erupt from the frozen sheets. They were coming at Naminé with incredible speed. She tried to use fire magic to prevent them from hitting, but it was too late. Naminé fell into Aerith's trap.

There was no way for her to stop summoning-powered magic with simple instant magic. Naminé felt the biting cold on her arms and face when the crystal hit, completely engulfing her in ice. She was unable to move a single finger, frozen solid.

Aerith was slowly gliding closer, wary of any counter-magic, but Naminé had completely lost this battle. It was virtually unthinkable for her to beat Aerith, who had been her teacher not long ago, and who was a very powerful mage capable of using strong summoning magic.

Aerith hit the ice block with her staff, causing it to shatter. Naminé had taken no real damage, but she was icy cold. At least the clothes had protected her somewhat, even when frozen and immobilized.

"You shouldn't have left the ice platform. It was a good idea, but if you use ice magic as shields, you need to place them further away from yourself." Aerith helped the younger girl up and smiled. "But you did okay for your first time. The idea to use a gravity spell on the ice was not bad!"

Naminé looked up and could see Tifa and a somewhat ragged-looking Olette, walking in their direction. Tifa was waving with her hand while Olette had trouble keeping up. "I guess Olette did about as well as you."

Naminé didn't say anything and just sighed. It wasn't really a battle they could win. It wasn't a fight. It was a demonstration of power. Tifa and Aerith had had years to train and get experience in real fights. Not to mention that attack on the Organization that they had undergone before she'd showed up.

Tifa took Aerith by the hand and dragged her along, leaving Naminé behind, who waited for Olette to reach her. When she did, the fighter sat uneasily down on the ground.

Naminé knew that each one of them had gotten a new outfit from Rydia, but she hadn't actually seen Olette's outfit. Naminé looked at Olette with shining eyes.

"What? You want to say something?" Olette wasn't in the best mood after getting beaten up by Tifa like that. She only noticed Naminé's clothes now and was rather impressed by the image they gave off.

"You look so _cool!_" Naminé said, out of the blue, and circled around the sitting Olette a few times, watching her quite intently. Now she wanted to see Kairi's outfit, but the tactician had locked herself up in her room, brooding over books and a ridiculous number of papers, trying to come up with new and efficient methods of fighting the Organization members.

"You look nice, too. Really witch-ish." Upon Naminé's slightly displeased face, Olette corrected herself. "I mean that in a good way. Like a real sorceress." She knew that Naminé disliked the word _witch_. Olette didn't know why, but she usually avoided that word anyway. It had just been a slip of the tongue.

"Was Tifa as tough as Aerith?" Naminé asked, and sat down next to her friend. She was still a bit cold from that last attack. The two women who had fought them just now were standing a good deal away from them, talking, probably discussing the results from their fight.

"You have _no idea_." Olette lifted her arms and showed Naminé her slightly blue-colored wrists. "If I hadn't gone full power from the start, I would be mush right now." Olette sighed and let herself fall back into the dust on the ground.

"Aerith was the same. They are completely different from how they were when they trained us…I had no idea that she was so powerful. And she lied to me, too!" Naminé finally remembered that Aerith had said she wouldn't use summoning magic. And yet, she had used Shiva to power her ice spell!

"You can't expect your enemy to tell you the truth." Olette knew that herself, but it was a valuable lesson for Naminé.

"I'm going to the library after this. Aerith talked about a book I should read. It's about support magic. Want to come with me?" Naminé was a great attacker by her own standards, but she was a poor support when compared herself to Aerith. Powerful magic like her Dark Mist spell was out of reach for Naminé.

"I'll pass, thanks. I'm gonna lick my wounds, as Tifa said." Olette took a deep breath and got up, helping up Naminé as well. She couldn't help but feel that she was some kind of hero in a game with these clothes and all of this training. "Must be one hard game, though…" she whispered to herself.

"I'll see you later, then!" Naminé left her. Tifa and Aerith were apparently arguing about something. Tifa was loud and flailing with her arms, while Aerith, looking angry, was standing there with crossed arms, listening to whatever Tifa was shouting.

Olette lowly made her way back to the town, thinking about what she should do now. Yuffie had been fast asleep when she had gotten up and was probably up to something right now, but Olette just didn't want to put up with her at the moment. She was all worn out from that little fight. Damn that Tifa, having to go and use all her power…

"Heeeeeeey, Oleeeette!" There was only one person around that would shout her name like that. Looking up, Olette spotted Yuffie sitting on a high wall at the edge of the town, looking down into the canyon.

Olette sighed. She was absolutely _not_ going to go all the way up there. With a hand signal, she told Yuffie to get her ass down off that wall if she wanted to talk. And _talk_ was the only thing Olette had enough energy left for.

If Yuffie was going to tease her like usual, Olette was going to hit her. She just wasn't in the mood for any games.

Yuffie was quick on her feet, so she was already waiting for Olette by the time she entered the town from the canyon. "That took you…" Yuffie made big eyes and seemed speechless upon seeing Olette. "You look hilarious! Are those clothes Rydia's idea of cool?" Yuffie started to laugh so hard that Olette felt like hitting her to calm her down. They _were_ kinda cool.

"Oh, be quiet. I'm going to get lunch at Kupo's, and I'm gonna drag Kairi out of her room if necessary. She skipped breakfast." Olette was clearly pissed off at Yuffie's behavior. Olette wasn't just playing around, so to be this amused by an outfit was totally unnecessary. "Are you coming, or do you want for me to wait here until you're finished laughing?"

"Why, do you always need to have Kairi hold your hand?" Yuffie shook her head, shrugged her shoulders, and followed an irritated Olette, who didn't speak.

"You don't have to be _that_ angry!" Yuffie said and tried to grab Olette's hand.

"You're not really in a position to give me fashion tips, Yuffie…" Olette didn't want to have this conversation.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuffie stopped and looked down at herself. It was her usual attire. What was wrong with it? It looked rather nice, and it was easy to move in, so what was Olette's problem?

"I mean exactly what I said," Olette sighed, and turned around after a few meters.

Yuffie wasn't too dumb or slow to take a hint. "Look, it's just…your clothes do look a bit comical from my perspective." Yuffie tried to explain herself, but now that she thought about it, maybe she really had overdone it a bit by laughing like that. She grabbed Olette's hand again.

"You really need to learn what consideration means, Yuffie. Now get moving, I'm starving. And no, I am not going to _eat_ you." Olette pre-emptively rolled her eyes and pulled free, but now she was going at a much slower rate than before.

"I wasn't going to say that." Yuffie had a big smirk on her face.

"You were thinking it. It's still written all over your face." Olette gave Yuffie a scolding look.

"Not true!" Yuffie was still smirking. "But now that you mention it, you _were_ gone for a week and injured for the past few days, so…"

"No. Maybe later." Olette turned her down and finally relaxed. "You should have seen what I looked like as an adult," she said a second later, and grinned. "You'd still be drooling."

Yuffie waved her away and covered her mouth. "I can just look at Tifa for that."

"I swear to God, I am going to hit you one day." Olette clenched a fist and threatened Yuffie, who jumped a few steps back and pretended to be scared.

Both of them continued on this way until they reached Kairi's room. Olette threatened to kick down the door and drag her out if she didn't come out voluntarily. Kairi was starving anyway, so she went along to grab something to eat, since Tifa and Aerith were still out. It was likely the two were still arguing down in the canyon. Olette just hoped that Aerith wasn't going to blast Tifa out of Hollow Bastion because of what had happened yesterday.

Kairi functioned as buffer between the two not-quite-seriously-fighting girls and brought the mood back to a normal one. Yuffie never liked teasing Kairi much. Kairi saw through Yuffie too easily and didn't react like Yuffie wanted.

"I like your new outfit, Olette. How's the protection spell?" Kairi was curious about it since Olette was the only one of the three who didn't have her own magic energy to feed the spell. Thus, either Rydia or Naminé had to "refresh" the spell, as Rydia put it, every seventy-two hours.

"It's quite nice. But against a monster like Tifa, it's only of limited use." Olette wasn't big on the technical details, but the clothes at least seemed to be virtually indestructible as long as the magic worked.

"I wanted to see yours, Kairi. What does it look like?" Olette kept the conversation going, much to Yuffie's annoyance.

"You're gonna find out tomorrow. We three are going to have a mock battle against Tifa, Aerith and Leon. That's why I spent all morning trying to come up with a plan to at least get in a hit or two." Kairi casually explained everything and didn't notice that Olette and Yuffie had stopped in their tracks.

"A mock battle? Against all three of them _at once?_" Olette could suddenly see her life passing in front of her eyes. Again. Yuffie was showing a similar reaction, and was rather worried about Olette now.

"We have Rydia on standby in case someone gets injured." Kairi was secretly a bit excited about it, since she had found a few interesting maneuvers. Leon probably wouldn't expect them, and their teamwork was likely also lacking.

"I hope today doesn't end…" Olette sighed and followed up after Kairi.

End of Chapter

**XXII**


	23. Things to Come – Things to Go

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XXIII

_Things to Come – Things to Go_

There was quite an audience watching them. Someone (and Olette had a very good idea who that someone was) had leaked the info that the Keybladers were having a all-out mock battle against their advisors. While Olette and Naminé had already gotten used to the magic-enforced clothes from Rydia, it was a first test for Kairi. A large part of the previous evening had involved strategic planning for this battle.

Kairi's outfit consisted of a short skirt, a sleeveless shirt, and sneakers with reinforced soles and gloves. Both shirt and skirt were flaming red, complimenting her hair color, the sneakers and gloves a simple black.

Both parties were getting ready. Naminé was using Monochrome, Olette was wielding Circle of Life and Hero's Crest, and Kairi was using Oathkeeper. They were up against Tifa, Aerith, and Leon. All three of them actually armed for real combat. Aerith was again using a staff, and Leon was using his customized weapon he called a gunblade.

Yuffie was sitting on a rock high up next to the battlefield and would act as arbiter for this battle. They would fight until either Leon's party went down or until all three of Kairi's party were unable to fight. Yuffie wasn't too happy that she wasn't included in either party. On top of that, Olette had spent the entire evening before with Kairi.

"Don't forget what we planned. I trust you two." Kairi looked vividly at the other two, who each gave her a quick nod. They had no way of overpowering Leon's team, especially not Tifa, so they had to outsmart them. It was their luck that the strongest and most problematic member of the team was also the easiest to trick.

Barely twenty meters distance was between them. Leon was going to abstain from using any elaborate tactics against the Keybladers. His team already had the advantage in power.

"Just don't kill them, Tifa." Leon turned around and looked at the rather too-eager woman.

"They won't die that easily. Don't go easy on them." Tifa grinned widely and happily, pleased that she was now able to show her first student ever what she really was capable of. She cracked her knuckles, ready to go.

"Let's start, then. On my count!" Yuffie was using a megaphone. There was quite an audience on the town walls and even down in the gorge. "Go!"

Both parties dispersed, only their mages keeping still as they began casting. Olette was on a straight collision course with Tifa. Leon had retreated behind Aerith and was analyzing the situation. Kairi was right behind Olette. They were both going to take Tifa on.

Leon retreated further when the magic aura around Aerith became dangerously dense. She was casting something big.

"…_and consume those foolish enough to stand in my way…Ifrit!"_ Aerith aimed at the center of the field.

"…_to lay waste to everything in your way…Leviathan!"_ Naminé was also aiming right at the center.

A flash of light blinded everyone on the walls, but not the contestants. Erupting fire and walls of water clashed forces in the middle of the field. Smoke arose and filled the battlefield as both mages now changed position.

Naminé was not as powerful as Aerith, but she had the elemental advantage on her side. The ground in the middle was now scorched and glowing hot, the field filling with water.

The impact drove Olette to her knees. Tifa attacked her head-on, despite the fact that Olette was using an edged weapon. But so far, everything was going according to plan. Olette had locked down Tifa and was holding against her.

Tifa was about to hit with her dominant fist when Kairi appeared behind her and attacked her blind spot. Tifa acted in a matter of seconds and jumped high above the smoke. It was dangerous to take both of them on at once. In that case…

"…_let the earth tremble before your power…Titan!"_ Aerith needed to get rid of the water; it was impeding Tifa's footwork.

"…_weaken my enemy and protect me from his magic…Carbuncle!"_ Naminé had already left the slippery ground behind and had positioned herself on higher ground, standing on a couple of elevated rocks. The clouds in the sky increased in density in a matter of seconds while the ground started to shake. Aerith was probably planning something big.

"Not bad, Naminé. Going and preventing me from getting rid of the bad conditions hindering Tifa and Leon." Aerith had a feeling that this had been Kairi's idea. She must have calculated that Aerith would try to support her partner.

The ground exploded beneath her. Tifa had just rushed head-on into the smoke and had hit the ground, smashing a crater in the ground and sending rocks flying everywhere. Kairi hadn't expected it, and in an instant Tifa was right in front of her. She didn't lose any time attacking. Grabbing Kairi violently by her hair, Tifa threw her with all her might towards the other shadow in the smoke.

Leon had hardly registered an object flying right at him before it hit him with full force. The impact was enormous and he lost his hold on the wet ground. The trembling induced by Aerith's magic made it worse, but he didn't get far. Behind him erupted a wall of stone, and both he and the object crashed into it, smashing it to pieces.

That idiot Tifa! There was almost zero visibility and she shouldn't have been throwing people around. Friendly fire was the last thing they needed, _especially_ not from Tifa. If she was unsure where and who someone in this wall of smoke was, then she should first make sure it wasn't an ally.

He was just a second too slow getting up—Kairi already had her Keyblade at his neck. Leon knelt on the ground, having difficulty in determining who his enemy was through the smoke and debris from the wall's explosion.

Tifa had lost her orientation after throwing Kairi and was looking around, knowing there was one more girl out there. Visibility was near zero. But the water had actually worked out to her advantage. Hearing wasn't one of her better skills, but it was good enough to allow her to sense and block the full-force onslaught from the dual-wielding girl. As she used her metal-enforced gloves to block the swords, Tifa was pressured by a second attack from her left.

Naminé had sneaked up to the two fighting shadows and was now right behind Tifa, who had her hands full parrying Olette's wild attacks.

A small ball of air exploded violently at Tifa's back, sending her flying. She rotated around her own axis and smashed into something not even ten meters away.

Leon was suddenly freed from his checkmate when Tifa crashed into Kairi. Both of them went sliding over the still-wet ground. Grabbing his gunblade, Leon was not a second too late. Olette came running after Tifa, jumping and attacking him head-on.

Leon spun around, dodged Olette's attack, and grabbed her leg at the same time. Jumping while still holding her, he used his full power to throw Olette to the ground, knocking the wind out of her on impact. Using the momentum, he directed his left hand at a spot inside the smoke and shot multiple fireballs, causing several explosions in the location where he thought Olette was.

A massive fireball exploded in the sky over them. The red shimmering light was clearly visible through the smoke. Tifa knew that sign. Aerith was going to unleash something brutal, and even she wouldn't walk away unscratched. Tifa didn't like leaving it all to Aerith, but she couldn't help it now. Leon retreated as well. He did not exactly know what was going to happen, so he decided to assert the situation before taking any further action.

"Naminé! Olette!" Kairi shouted, all three of them returning to their starting point. "Pattern four!"

Aerith had created an elevated position with magic for herself and was observing the smoke-filled field from above. Tifa was the first to jump out of the smoke. She landed next to Aerith, sliding a few meters over the ground from the speed. Leon followed a few seconds after.

"Hold on to something." Aerith smiled and got ready. The air around her started to spark, and Tifa could feel the magic energy getting very dense. Aerith really took this seriously.

"_Lord of Dragons, heir to the throne of Blaze, I plead to you to grant me your power and air to destroy my enemy…" _Aerith knew that the girls had something planned. Kairi was not so stupid as to leave aside the fact that Aerith was a powerful summoner as well.

"_Envoy of chaos and misery, Lord of the Dark Sphere, I call you to annihilate what stands in my way…"_ Naminé had studied several eidolons by now and was capable of drawing power from them. However, she was still far from actually being able to summon them like Aerith could.

"…_so I cast away your chains. Unleash your power and destroy my enemy! Bahamut!"_ Aerith finished her summon and the clouds above them were ripped apart by a gigantic dragon-like monster that flew over them and the town's walls.

"…_I summon your power, cursed lord of the dark dimension, dark messenger! Diabolos!"_ It was easy to locate the enormous beast that Aerith had summoned. Taking this one on without protection would probably kill them. They really were going at it.

Without warning, Bahamut was suddenly chained by dark, glowing steel. His claws, his wings, his mouth were all chained, and the otherworldly shackles became tighter the more he struggled. It was nothing more but than playing for time.

Aerith knew that it would take too much energy for her to make Bahamut break Diabolos' chains and release him. Tifa and Leon instantly jumped back into the smoke. The clouds above them were getting denser yet again, it seemed as if it would start to rain soon.

Naminé was breathing heavily. She coughed for a few seconds. "I'm fine…" Naminé said after seeing Kairi's worried look. She retreated a few steps and got ready for another spell.

Olette was in position. Tifa would probably show up first and attack her head-on again. Before she did that…Kairi gave a quick nod, and Olette let her Keyblades fall. She grabbed Kairi with both hands by Kairi's left arm and pulled her along, rotating twice before throwing the tactician with all her power towards where she thought Tifa was located.

Kairi was feeling like her arm was about to come off when she flew past Tifa at an unbelievable speed toward another shadowy figure. She braced herself for the impact—Leon had no time to evade and instead blocked the attack. Kairi's speed was too high, though, and the redhead forced him back a few steps.

Kairi immediately retreated a few steps and observed Leon. Both of them were staring each other down. Both were using a single weapon and could use simple magic. Whoever made the first error was the loser of this battle.

Leon was sick of getting pushed around. Enforcing his gunblade with magic and enlarging it to a multitude its normal size, he attacked Kairi. He now possessed a large advantage in power and range, which would force Kairi to continuously evade.

Sparks were flowing from Olette's Keyblades as Tifa continuously hacked at her, trying to break her defenses. Using both fists and even her legs, Tifa was completely overpowering Olette both in strength and speed—but her gloves were wearing down from the continuous clash on metal.

She jumped back and left Olette a little room to breathe, analyzing her surroundings for a second. She then sped right past the dual-wielder and hit a stone wall with full force, causing it to crumble into several larger blocks. Olette could see where this was going and put some distance between herself and the martial arts fighter.

The smoke was slowly getting thinner and visibility was returning, and Naminé was instantly wary. It was too early. She looked around, and of course… Aerith was standing there, using wind magic to blow off the smoke. But it wasn't exactly a disadvantage. Naminé could now target Tifa, who was unaware of her.

"_Those who lie in eternal rest, hold young forever by your power…"_ She started her recitation.

Aerith was still busy using typhoon magic. The smoke was too dense to blow it away with lesser magic—Tifa had to handle herself now.

Leon was still completely dominating Kairi, driving her into a corner. Kairi was aware of what her instructor was doing. Luckily she still had a trick up her sleeve. Leon followed a pattern of hits, so Kairi evaded another vertical hit and jumped to the right, throwing Oathkeeper at the surprised Leon. He blocked the rotating Keyblade with his gunblade and the weapon disappeared, reappearing in Kairi's hands.

"I forgot you could do that…" he said, and defended against another throw. Kairi was skillfully recalling the weapon, using it as an unlimited throwing weapon as she slowly drove Leon back. "But you're forgetting something important here!"

Leon threw his massive weapon at Kairi. The girl had to jump to the left side to evade a direct hit.

It was all part of Leon's plan. He was right there when she landed, unable to defend. He landed a brutal hit right to her stomach, then hit her four more times before grabbing her leg again and throwing her up in the air. He shot several fireballs after her.

Kairi shot out her own fireballs at the last second. The heat of the colliding fireballs reached her and burned a few strands of her hair. Using the smoke as shield, Kairi readied her weapon for a frontal assault, using the momentum from the fall to attack Leon.

But she fell right into his trap. Leon was no longer on the ground. By the time Kairi could see, he was right above her with his sword, ready to slash her. Kairi moved her own blade into the path of Leon's weapon and avoided a direct blow, but she was still smashed into the ground.

Kairi lost consciousness from the impact and was down for the count.

"…_stop her flow of time! Shiva!"_ Naminé fired her magic directly at Tifa, who found herself suddenly attacked from the front and behind. She defended against Olette out of instinct but took a direct hit from the magic. In a matter of seconds, Tifa was enclosed in an ice block, seemingly frozen alive.

Olette noticed that Kairi was out. Apparently, Yuffie didn't count Tifa as out, as she was only frozen, so the battle continued.

Leon approached quickly, aiming for Naminé. He had to get the little witch out of the way quickly.

Aerith was preparing to undo Naminé's spell, aborting her previous summons of Ramuh. _What a hassle,_ she thought. Tifa really should be watching out for herself.

Leon took a severe hit to his right shoulder from Olette, who was using both her Keyblades as throwing weapons. She really was dangerous when Kairi taught her. Using her speed and the ability to recall her weapons to her advantage, Olette circled around the swordfighter, putting him under tremendous pressure.

He took several hits to his legs and arms. Olette was not an opponent he would normally seek out on his own. This girl was something Tifa ought to be dealing with. But there was no use complaining. Blocking the next approaching weapon, Leon did a three-sixty turn with his gunblade and forced Olette to break her circling for just a moment.

That was enough to put some distance between them. He stared Olette down, fully aware that Naminé was right behind the dual-wielder, ready to fire her next salve of magic at him. If he was locked down again, then he would be unable to evade her attack. A powerful combination.

This wasn't good. They were a team and had had enough training together to know exactly what the other one was doing. He and Tifa were nothing like that. The girls had the clear advantage in strategy, but they were outmatched in raw power. As long as Aerith was standing, Leon's side wouldn't lose easily.

Naminé, however, was taking a different approach. Now that Kairi was down for the count, the pattern had changed. It was a risky, pitting her magic against Aerith, and Naminé wasn't sure how long it would work, but it was worth a try. If she could bind Aerith, it would be a great achievement.

"_To chain down the force of the heavens, maiden of the sea…."_

"…_let Inferno rampage! Ifrit!"_ Aerith used a summon-powered spell, shooting a massive pillar of flames against the ice block that Tifa was in. But she was too slow. Naminé had hurried her spell.

"…_sing the song of silence, Siren!"_ Naminé figured that Aerith didn't know that she could draw power from this eidolon and had used the right moment to use her spell. Aerith was suddenly chained by invisible chains, and the flame pillar ceased to be in a matter of seconds.

Aerith struggled and tried to get free, but the magic was well done despite Naminé's lack of experience. Aerith could command Siren as well and knew how to break the chains, but it would take a bit of time.

Leon and Olette were still in a lockdown when Olette was surprised by an ear-piercing cracking sound. With a frightening growl, Tifa broke free from her cold prison and seemed to be quite furious. She ran towards Olette, and at the same time the younger girl was suddenly attacked from behind by Leon. Several fireballs scorched her back, but thanks to the protective clothes, she didn't take much damage. She did, however, lose her balance and focus.

That was all Tifa needed. Olette looked up a second too late, and Tifa was already right in front of her. _"Final…"_

Olette dropped her blades and covered her chest with her arms. She wouldn't make it in time with weapons.

"…_Heaven!!"_

Tifa's punch left Olette breathless, and the world seemed to move in slow motion for a second. With enormous speed, Olette was sent flying across the field. She smashed violently into a formation of stones.

Naminé was the only one left. She knew that she had no chance, but she refused to give up. It had come down to this, and she would go all out. If something went wrong, at least Aerith was right there.

"_Ruler over the the heavens, child of gods, betrayer to your creator, hail upon my wish, and obliterate everything that stands before you. Archangel of Virgo, holy envoy of destruction, unleash your hatred upon the fools that come before you and…"_ Naminé could feel the magic pressure pushing down on her.

Aerith could feel it too, and it was something she wasn't capable of stopping. She had no time to summon a similar powerful eidolon. Not correctly, anyway. And if Aerith couldn't control the Angel of Virgo, neither could Naminé.

"Tifa! Stop her! If necessary, knock her out by force!" Aerith yelled, and jumped down from her rock. Reckless girl!

Yuffie shouted and yelled for Naminé to abort. It Trying to overpower all three of the enemy group was stupid!

Tifa heard Aerith and saw her running. Naminé was doing something crazy and Aerith seemed to want her to stop it. She jumped up on the rocks and was right in front of the young mage when all hell broke loose.

"…_with the heart of darkness, fallen angel, destroy them! High Seraph—Ultima!"_

Time seemed to stand still. Tifa was caught in a monstrous explosion and was sent flying. Leon was pushed to the ground, and Aerith protected herself with an emergency spell from Carbuncle and witnessed the chaos. Naminé had failed to properly summon the Angel of Virgo, and the built-up magic just exploded aimlessly. An uncontrolled holy spell.

Naminé fell to ground, unconscious but seemingly fine. Aerith took a deep breath. Just a magic overload. That girl would have a tremendous headache.

---Valiant Hearts---

The crowd dispersed after Yuffie declared Leon's party the winner of the mock battle. To most of the audience, it had looked like a life-or-death battle, and they weren't so wrong. Both parties really had gone all out. Naminé had gone a bit too far and knocked herself out with a magical overload, but at least it was a flashy way to lose.

Tifa rubbed her hands. It was, after all, not the brightest idea to hit edged weapons head on like she had done. Aerith had warned her about it, but Tifa had wanted to try it for herself. Leon had taken the most damage and was on his way home. He had refused to get treated by Rydia, who had been among the spectators. He had his own pride.

Tifa stood right over Kairi, who was out cold. Olette was far on the other side of the field, lying uncomfortably in a pile of rocks. Neither seemed to be injured badly.

Rydia had already come down and was just meters away from where Tifa was. "Don't worry, she's just unconscious. Man, I wish I had some clothes like that." Rydia painfully remembered the day before and changed direction before she could meet up with Tifa. Instead she went in the direction of the other two girls.

Tifa was dangerous in many ways, Rydia thought, painfully aware that the skirt she herself was wearing wasn't the optimal clothing for the windy canyon area. Aerith was already looking after Naminé, so she went to look after Olette.

The brunette had a lot of bruises, but it seemed like she had no dangerous injuries. Rydia took a deep breath and rolled Olette over. Her face was more badly damaged than her body. She had a swollen lip and a black eye. She looked like she had just lost a bar fight.

"You're a genius to have made those clothes, Rydia. Tifa went flying across the canyon and yet Naminé is completely fine. She'll have a monstrous headache later, though!" Aerith shouted from up above. She picked up the girl in white.

Being praised like that made Rydia embarrassed. And slightly uncomfortable. Olette was heavier than she looked, but at least her Keyblade had dissolved. Yuffie arrived after somehow managing to get the crowd to leave.

"How's Olette? That bitch hit her with everything she had." Yuffie accompanied Rydia, who felt even more awkward. There must be some weird aura or something that turned everyone involved with the Keyblades into lesbians. Yuffie was just another victim.

"She's fine, but she's going to be pissed for a while. She's got a black eye." Rydia didn't stop when Yuffie went to look at the face of the girl Rydia was carrying on her back. That eye would hurt—the clothes didn't protect her head, after all.

"I should've called a foul on that." Yuffie snorted and sighed. "Well, what's done is done. I think they did great. Thanks for giving them this stuff." Yuffie was referring to the clothes and showed Rydia a grateful smile.

"How's the princess over there?" Tifa shouted, carrying Kairi like a bag of flour under her arm. She was still knocked out and would probably not come to for a while. Leon had done quite the job on her. But he was a sore loser. Olette had clearly had an advantage over him and he was probably mad that Tifa had gotten to kick Olette's ass, not him.

Aerith was indeed carrying Naminé like a princess. She was light enough for that. There was still some atmospheric magic around her, but Aerith got gradually rid of it by exerting her own magic aura. It was just a matter of going easy on the girl. "Sleeping peacefully."

The three women, accompanied by Yuffie, reached Tifa's house. Laying the three girls down on the couch and the armchairs, Rydia quickly waved goodbye and left, oddly nervous. Aerith gave Tifa a brutal glare and the black-clad woman scratched her cheek.

"Rydia, wait!" Tifa went after the green-haired woman, who seemed even more nervous now. Why was Tifa coming after her all alone? Why was Aerith staring through the window like a mad lion? Should she escape, or…

"About yesterday, I…uhh…" Tifa wasn't too big on saying sorry. Which was making the problem worse.

"No…no!" Rydia waved her hands in front of her chest and ran away screaming, leaving a surprised and confused Tifa behind. Aerith was still giving her the cold glare when she came back in.

"I tried!" Tifa defended herself and went a bit angry at how unreasonable Aerith was regarding this.

"You scared her for life! You _flirt_." Aerith put such a cold emphasis on the last two words that Tifa felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Now _that_ really hurt!

"Flirt?! I just…well…it was supposed to be a joke." Tifa didn't know what to say. She had never won an argument against Aerith, especially not when Aerith was mad at her for something.

Yuffie was sitting in a corner and looking very amused by the fight between the two women. But the air was quickly becoming a bit _too_ heated. She didn't want to be around when all hell broke loose. Grabbing Olette and slapping her cheek gently, she tried to get her to come to.

It took a few minutes, which seemed to Yuffie like covering in a ditch on a battlefield, to get her to open her eyes. "WhathappenwhereamIand…" It was total gibberish. Yuffie supported Olette and made her stand, slowly pulling her away from the fighting women. Aerith was now wearing her "I see" expression, which meant that something big was coming.

Getting up the stairs with the still half-unconscious Olette was difficult, but she eventually managed. Just after Yuffie closed the door behind her, she could hear the two women getting louder. Aerith seemed really mad. Well, considering what Tifa had done…

Laying Olette down on her bed, Yuffie took a deep breath. This was tiring. Maybe she should try to clean up her own place…but that would be a giant hassle…maybe later. First…

Olette was just lying there, defenseless and asleep again. Yuffie had disliked her new outfit in the beginning, but looking at it now…the clothes really did look good on the brunette. Leaning over her, slightly drooling and with evil eyes, Yuffie went and opened the buttons of Olette's jeans and pulled off her boots.

Breathing heavily, she took off her vest and was about to pull up her shirt when Olette started talking in her sleep. "Kairi, watch out…"

It was an instant mood killer. Always Kairi! Yuffie ruffled her hair and kicked the wood frame of the bed, hurting her toes. "Goddammit, _fuck_." She tried to suppress a scream but it hurt a lot. At least it distracted her from the mumbling Olette.

"Damn you, Kairi!" Yuffie cursed and opened the door. It was quiet now. When had it gotten so quiet? It wasn't a good sign. With a sad look back at Olette tossing on her bed, Yuffie accepted that her mood was completely gone. She sneaked down the stairs to find only Tifa sitting at the table.

Yuffie didn't notice it at first, but there was a big red hand mark on Tifa's left cheek. It was almost shining. Careless as she was, Yuffie opened her mouth. "What happ—" She didn't even get to finish.

A _very_ angry Tifa glared in her direction. It was one of those moments when the animal instinct of humans took over. Yuffie immediately closed her mouth and turned around, breaking out in cold sweat. It was much too dangerous to talk to her now.

What followed could only be described as a hissing growl. It sent a chill down Yuffie's spine.

"Nothing. _Nothing at all_."

Yuffie determined that it was better to leave. Quickly. She'd come back at a later time. Much later. Going through the rooftop window. Yes. That was a good idea. Yuffie didn't say a word and quickly left the house.

Where had Aerith gone? Maybe it wasn't that important right now. Yuffie felt like she had just escaped from a lion's den. Turning around, Yuffie could have sworn she saw dark clouds gather exactly over the house. That was a bad omen…

---Valiant Hearts---

The evening came, and there was no sign of Tifa. Aerith had come back sometime after Yuffie had left and before Kairi woke up. Aerith refused to tell anyone why she was mad, but Kairi knew the only possible reason for it could've been Tifa's actions from the day before.

Naminé woke up late in the evening. While Kairi took a shower, she feared that Aerith was mad because of her. The absence of Tifa, however, seemed to be a more reasonable cause. Something must've happened between those two. Even Naminé didn't dare to ask the still-mad Aerith.

It was after eight when Naminé finished her shower. She went to check up on Olette, while Kairi went back to her room. Rydia had passed a letter, through Aerith, to her, and she was eager to read it.

Kairi unfolded the letter and read over it carefully. It was instructions on the clothes. She would have to tell the other two these things. Right now, she just wanted to sleep, but her growling stomach demanded something to eat. With Aerith as she was, it was unlikely she'd cook anything, and trusting Olette or Naminé with that…well, it couldn't hurt to eat out once in a while.

Kairi left her room and knocked on the bathroom door. There was no sound of water gushing and Naminé didn't reply. Kairi opened the door to check. She really wasn't there. Maybe she was still in Olette's room.

Opening said door, Kairi was in awe of what was before her. Naminé and Yuffie were standing together, kneeling over a nearly naked Olette, using markers to draw things on her face.

"What…are you _doing?_" Kairi's voice was like the sound of a gong. Naminé looked up and seemed not a bit embarrassed about doing something like this. Yuffie was, similarly, smiling and holding several brightly colored markers.

"Here, take one." Yuffie offered blue, green and yellow markers to Kairi, who stepped closer, looking at Olette. It was like a rainbow had taken over her shape. Kairi knew that Olette would be mighty pissed when she woke up. The blue around her left eye seemed a little odd, though.

"I am going to grab something to eat. It's late, but I'm hungry. Naminé, you coming with me? I don't want to ruin your…_fun_ here, though." Kairi facepalmed, then looked down at the very…colorful girl. It worked with Tifa, so maybe…

"Olette, it's time for dinner!" Kairi shouted, and was nearly hit in the face by sudden rise of the girl. "It really worked! What the…" Kairi stepped back. This was becoming a little bit ridiculous.

Kairi had to avert her eyes. Olette's whole face was painted in several colors. It looked funny. Despite the fact that it had been a rather cruel thing to do, it was funny. Kairi had to suppress the urge to laugh. Yuffie and Naminé were not able to control themselves as well as she was, though.

It took Olette a bit of time until she was fully awake. Her head and left eye hurt quite a bit. Damn that Tifa…Olette only remembered that she had been hit and then everything had gone black.

"You should…take a shower and…put on some clothes." Kairi turned around, feeling a little bit embarrassed now that she took a closer look.

"Why the…" Olette looked at her side. There was no reason to actually ask _why_ she was nearly naked. "Yuffie!" That sex-crazy girl! This was all her doing. Grabbing her blanket, Olette threw Naminé and Yuffie out of her bed and hid herself from Kairi.

"I was going out to get something to eat. Naminé, you're coming with me. You coming too, Olette?" Kairi grabbed the still-snickering Naminé and dragged her to the door. Olette was still hiding herself away from Kairi.

"We'll be at the new Asian restaurant." Kairi left, pulling Naminé with her.

"Olette is going to be really angry when she notices her face. Show me that marker." Kairi looked at the marker's label until finally found what she was looking for. "You drew stuff on her face with _permanent_ marker?! Naminé, you…" Kairi sighed. Both of them were in civil clothing already, so they quickly left without talking to Aerith.

They were barely out the door when they heard what had to have been Olette noticing her face. Her scream _"Yuffie!!"_ was probably heard through half the quarter. Kairi could imagine how mad the brunette girl was. She looked up and spotted a snickering Yuffie escaping from the rooftop window.

"She really overdoes things like this…" Kairi said, and continued to walk. Naminé was right behind her, feeling a bit guilty all of a sudden.

---Valiant Hearts---

"I swear, I am going to get her and throw her into a giant bucket of paint," Olette cursed while stuffing herself with noodles. The new restaurant turned out to be a place that mainly served noodles—so-called "ramen" served in bowls—and different kinds of sushi. None of the three liked raw fish very much, so noodles it was.

It was a simple place, but full of Asian-orientated decoration. There were big white plates on pedestals, big white and red paper lanterns on the ceiling, and much more. The place was rather full at the time and it had a nice atmosphere with the buzzing sound from all the guests. The tables and walls were mostly fine wood. It must've cost a lot to get this place together.

"I'm amazed you went out of the house looking like that." Kairi was already half-finished with her bowl and was watching the other two. Naminé was surprisingly a big eater. Olette, not so surprisingly, was too. Kairi suddenly felt ill when she thought of the bill. Olette was already having her second serving.

Olette's face was still covered with the bright colors of the markers. Naminé had already apologized and promised to help her get the color off. Yuffie had yet to show her face, and it was ticking Olette off.

"I put up with most of her pranks, but this is too much. I am really going to hit her!" Olette's anger just made her more hungry. She munched away.

Not in the mood, or having the energy in Kairi's case, to talk much, they all finished their food. Kairi and Naminé waited for Olette to finish her second bowl. Kairi paid, not without wondering if she should demand payment for her Keyblader services, and the three of them stood aimlessly in front of the restaurant.

"Should we go home or go by _that_ place?" Olette offered, and Naminé jumped the gun, taking her hand and happily agreeing. Kairi knew it was futile to resist, and she didn't have any energy to do so anyway. Dragging Kairi along, the girls made their way up to the top of the castle. They hadn't been there in a long time.

The stars were already out, and despite Hollow Bastion's being a lively town, they were nicely visible this far up. The wind made the three girls move closer together. Naminé leaned on the guard rail, happily stargazing. Kairi looked at her for a bit and then went to look at the stars as well. Things like these were nice too, once in a while.

Olette only pretended to watch the stars. Even though Naminé was between them, Olette's left eye was continuously looking at Kairi. The cold wind brought back a memory from not so long ago. The days in the future. The cold, starless nights. The kiss they shared in secret. They hadn't talked about it ever since then. Had Kairi simply forgotten?

None could tell how much time passed, but Kairi left the happy Naminé alone and went to one of the benches to sit down. She wasn't as sturdy as Olette and didn't have powerful protection like Naminé. Come to think of it, was she really okay? Naminé had said she had lost control of a super-powerful spell in the end and the magic energy blew off right on top of her. Maybe she just wasn't showing it.

"Mind if I sit here?" Olette stood in front of the deep-in-thought girl and was so nervous that she was sweating despite the cold. At least Kairi couldn't see that in the darkness.

"Already done stargazing?" Kairi moved to the side and made some space for Olette to sit.

"Too tired to stand there. Naminé's amazing." Olette sat down and looked nervously over at Kairi.

"You did a good job against Leon and the others," Kairi said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Neither Naminé nor I could have gone against Tifa like that." Looking at Olette, Kairi smiled a grateful, happy smile. "You're amazing too."

Olette's heart skipped a beat. Why did this girl have the worst possible timing ever? The second after Olette remembered that kiss, Kairi put on such a cute smile. Olette sighed deeply. Was there no easy way out of this? If only she could just forget about her…but how was she supposed to do that? Living in the same house, having the same fate as a Keyblader, fighting together. Not to mention that Kairi essentially was dating her best friend.

"Kairi…do you remember that night when we barely survived the cold of the desert in the future?" Olette couldn't resist asking. Had Kairi forgotten about it?

"Of _course_ I remember." Kairi looked to her side, right into the face of the brunette girl. "How am I supposed to forget that kiss? I still haven't told Naminé about it." Kairi was not the naïve and dense girl from before. Circumstances had forced her to adapt to the world, adapt to what was happening around and to her. "Did you tell Yuffie?"

"Not yet…I don't think I can. Yuffie's not like Naminé. She wouldn't just let that go…" Olette looked at the ground. Now that she thought about it, wasn't that really betrayal?

"I don't know why I haven't told Naminé yet. Considering the past and how much she likes you…" Kairi smiled, a little melancholy, and looked at the sky. "I get the impression she wouldn't mind. And that's what hurts."

"What do you mean? Isn't it better that she doesn't mind? You don't need to feel guilty, then." Olette was confused and continued to look at Kairi, who seemed to be absorbed in looking at the stars.

"That's the point. I've never felt truly guilty that we kissed. Just that I am keeping it a secret from Naminé." Kairi leaned slightly back, using her arms to support herself from falling back over. "If…if things had gone the other way…if you and Naminé switched places, would you…feel betrayed?" Kairi's voice wavered just a little bit.

Olette thought about it for a long time. Kairi didn't look or say anything. Looking at the stars herself, Olette imagined Naminé as the one with lingering affection for Kairi…the one that Kairi secretly kissed. But no matter how hard she wanted to be able to tell Kairi she would feel betrayed, said feeling just kept missing from her imagination.

"I thought about it…I…I don't think I would. I love Naminé…not like you, of course. But I…don't know. I just couldn't think of her as someone who could take you away from me." Olette felt oddly happy talking like this. "…from me, huh…"

"I wonder why life, why loving someone, is so complicated." Kairi rarely lamented on reality. It wasn't something one could easily change. Only one's own actions mattered. One could only do what one was capable of.

"Maybe it's just us. Naminé doesn't seem to think it's complicated at all." Olette looked at the back of the blond girl.

Kairi went quiet and so did Olette when neither continued their conversation. They just sat there in silence. Below them, the town wrapped in darkness. Many houses had still lights shining through their windows. It was getting colder as it grew late.

Naminé came back to Kairi, and soon she had fallen asleep on Kairi's shoulder. Olette too had moved closer and was trying to get a little body heat from the other two. So close together, Olette still was torn apart on the inside. She enjoyed this.

But it was only human nature that desires won against guilt. Olette was so close to Kairi that she could hear her breathing slowly. Closing her eyes, Olette grabbed Kairi's right hand. The redhead made no move. She didn't draw her hand away in disgust. It was the opposite.

Olette's fingers intervened with Kairi's. Here, on the top of the castle in darkness, only seen by the stars, with Naminé so close, they held hands. Olette knew it was wrong, and so did Kairi. But they weren't strong. People are weak, and that is why they bond together. And before their own desires, they are even weaker.

More and more lights in the town went off. It was getting late. The night wind was so cold that each of them had goosebumps. But the two still held hands. Kairi finally broke the spell when she let go and stood up cautiously, as to not wake up Naminé.

"We should go home. It's late and cold." Kairi just stood there, next to the bench, looking down at the sleeping Naminé. She loved her, no matter what was between herself and Olette.

Olette too, stood up and thought of carrying the sleeping girl. It would be easier for her. The wind was blowing on her back, and whirled her hair up like a storm. Just…once more.

Grabbing Kairi's wrist, Olette slowly pulled her towards her. Kairi didn't resist. She seemed to instinctively know what Olette wanted. Laying her free hand around Olette's neck, Kairi moved in on her own. A dark cloud shoved itself in front of the moon as if to silence any witnesses. In the darkness under the stars, Kairi and Olette shared another kiss, one full of forbidden passion.

---Valiant Hearts---

It was past eleven when they finally got home. Olette carried Naminé to Kairi's room, where Kairi took over. Olette quickly turned around and left for her own room. She wasn't even in the mood to scold Yuffie anymore. She was stopped briefly by Kairi, who grabbed her wrist.

"Sleep well." Kairi smiled reluctantly and let go.

"You too," Olette responded, with a smile of her own. Things were oddly…normal between them, considering…

Opening the door to her own room, Olette found herself in darkness. No lights on meant that Yuffie was either already sleeping or still out, so Olette looked in the lower bunk. Yuffie was there, fast asleep. Olette climbed up and undressed on her own bed. Looking out the window, Olette touched her lips with her pinky finger, going over them.

She lay down and closed her eyes, something caught her attention. Yuffie had woken up. Had she been too loud? "Where were you so long? I couldn't find you for hours." Yuffie didn't seem to want to come up, and Olette was too tired to go down to answer, so she just answered while lying there.

"I was at the observation deck with Kairi and Naminé, stargazing. We had to carry Naminé down. Took us a while. That's all."

"Stargazing, huh? Take me along next time," Yuffie murmured, and seemed to have fallen asleep again.

Olette didn't bother to answer and turned around, closing her eyes and mind. She quickly fell asleep herself.

But Yuffie was still awake. Gritting her teeth under her blanket, the girl whispered to herself, so that nobody could hear. _"Liar…"_

Kairi next door knew nothing about Yuffie's growing grudge against her. She looked straight at Naminé's face as both of them lay comfortably in Kairi's bed. She was worried. Was it really right to keep this from Naminé any longer? Twice…_twice_ she and Olette had kissed, and Kairi still couldn't feel guilty about it. But keeping it a secret from Naminé was painful.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi was eating breakfast alone in the living room when Naminé came down the stairs with amazing bed head. She was dressed in just a very long shirt. Without words, Naminé put some bread in the toaster and sat down, resting her head on the table.

"You don't look so good, Naminé. What's wrong?" Kairi said, and almost jumped up when Naminé turned her head and let out a pain-filled moan.

"Your voice is too loud…" Naminé ranted, and looked at Kairi with slightly red eyes. "Headache…" the girl murmured and turned back to resting her forehead on the cold table.

Kairi figured that the payload of her actions the day before finally had come. From her behavior, Kairi concluded that it must be a very, _very_ bad headache. Maybe it would be best for Naminé to stay in her room for the day.

Olette came down a few minutes later while Naminé was munching halfheartedly on plain toasted bread. Raising her hand to wish everyone a good morning, Olette was about to open her mouth when Kairi put a finger to her lips, made a shushing noise, and pointed at the pain-stuck girl.

"I heard she overdid it, but this bad? What exactly did she do?" Olette whispered, sitting next to Kairi.

"I don't know, but let's just keep it quiet today…" Kairi whispered back. They both noticed how close they were and moved their chairs further apart.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Tifa and Aerith," Olette said, and was amazed by that simple fact. Aerith was not one to skip on breakfast—at least not on making some. And Tifa skipping a meal was about as strange as that vanishing grinning purple cat.

"Leon was already here earlier. Tifa's at his place. She and Aerith are apparently still fighting. He asked me to get Aerith to make up with her before Tifa ate him into bankruptcy," Kairi said while standing up and walking to the coffee machine.

Usually she wouldn't let Naminé drink coffee, but she couldn't bear it today, seeing how miserable she felt. Naminé had never had this bad a headache from using magic, but Aerith seemed to resort to coffee as well when she overdid it.

After brewing some rather light coffee, Kairi put a large mug in front of her and filled it with with the steaming hot drink. "Thanks…" Naminé groaned. She took a sip, burning her tongue. "Hot!"

"I'm going to Leon's place after this. He wants me to tell you what we did wrong and could have done better in yesterday's fight. I don't really want to, though…I'm aching all over," Kairi complained and looked at Olette. Maybe she could get her to tag along.

"I'm not coming with you, stop looking." She didn't need to be psychic to know what Kairi was thinking in this situation. Leon was strict and sometimes cold, but he really was a very skilled leader. Olette couldn't really stand him, though.

"Tsk, nice friend _you_ are," Kairi complained, and somehow managed to get herself up. "I'm changing clothes…" Kairi was just wearing a long skirt and a cheap shirt at the moment, and that was hardly an outfit she could wear outside.

Olette wondered how long Yuffie intended to sleep. She still hadn't forgiven her for the marker prank the evening before and there was still marker on her face. Maybe it would come off with another shower.

Naminé was still on the table, still eating bread, and just waved when Kairi left, now dressed in casual clothes.

Olette was up in the bathroom, taking a shower when a very grumpy and very gloomy-looking Yuffie came down the stairs.

Yuffie was in a bad mood. Olette was blatantly lying. Not she had to find out if the other two were in it too. Sitting across the table, Yuffie leaned on her arm and looked out the window, then eyed Naminé. "What did you three do yesterday evening?"

Yuffie knew. She had followed them in secret and had seen everything. Olette and Kairi talking, them holding hands and kissing. Olette was cheating on her and thought she wouldn't notice!

Did Naminé even know about it? How long had this gone on? Was Olette secretly sleeping with Kairi when they were on missions? What about that trip to the future? Hadn't Olette said they had been adults there? Yuffie was angry and hurt about this broken trust.

"Your voice is too loud…" Naminé looked up, feeling terrible. After the battle, there had only been a slight headache. But now her head felt like it was about to explode into a million tiny fragments any second.

"We were just looking at the stars…why do you ask?" Naminé was curious as to why Yuffie was in such a bad mood, but she didn't ask. She wanted to stay quietly at home in her room, without much talking.

"Actually, I _was_ there. I saw you by accident and followed you. You fell asleep halfway." Yuffie was now looking grim, not gloomy. She seemed like a volcano that was about to explode.

"Why didn't you join us?" Naminé was confused. She often didn't understand the things Yuffie did. Kairi said that she was too trusting to doubt people, so she wouldn't understand.

"Did Kairi tell you that she and Olette kissed after you fell asleep? They sat there for quite a while, holding hands too." Yuffie was getting riled up. She wanted to confront Olette about it, but she wanted to test Naminé first.

"Really? They _kissed?_" Naminé sat up, but was still feeling terrible. She was more surprised than anything else.

"Yeah. Both of them cheated on us behind our backs with each other. Who knows how long this has been going on!" Yuffie seemed content that she had found an ally.

"That's nice. I really wanted Olette to get along better with Kairi." Naminé was completely oblivious to the actual problem in Yuffie's eyes.

"_What?_" Yuffie at first didn't understand what the girl was saying. It was like someone had taken all the wind out of her sails.

"I knew Olette still liked Kairi!" Naminé seemed rather proud that her guess was correct, but her enthusiasm quickly vanished when Yuffie hit the table with her hand.

"You can't be serious! That's all you're gonna say? Aren't you the slightest bit offended that Kairi is cheating on you behind your back?" Yuffie was now furious. How could this girl be so easygoing? It pissed her off.

"Why would I be offended? I don't understand you, Yuffie…isn't it a nice thing that they are getting closer?" Naminé didn't understand what made Yuffie so angry. It was just a kiss…

"So, would you mind if Kairi kissed me or anyone else?" Yuffie asked, only intending it as a mock question. But Naminé took it seriously and was suddenly deep in thought.

"Hm…maybe a little. Olette is special, though!" Naminé said with a wide grin. That pissed off Yuffie even more.

"Forget it. I need to get out of here." Yuffie just left as she was, slamming the door behind her. Naminé was left behind in confusion.

Naminé finished up her breakfast and went back to her room. Thinking about Yuffie, Naminé soon came to realize why Yuffie was so mad. Kairi had told her about this before. People could only be with one other person. So Yuffie must have felt that Olette was abandoning her. Probably.

Naminé lay down on her bed and grabbed the small CD player that Kairi rarely used. A girl she often met in the library had lent Naminé a few of her CDs full of what was called classical music. Listening to some music didn't help much, but she didn't like the silence of being alone.

Why did everyone always think about things in such a complicated way? She didn't mind if Olette and Kairi were close or if they kissed. She wished Kairi would include her, though. It would be even nicer. Maybe Olette didn't want that. She couldn't understand why Yuffie was so angry about this. It didn't mean Olette was going to stop being with her.

Turning around, Naminé stopped thinking about it. She would just ask Kairi later.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi was on her way home when she came across Yuffie, who seemed to have been waiting for her. Kairi wasn't in the mood for any of her pranks, so she stood still and looked up, watching Yuffie as she sat on a nearby roof. Seriously, that girl had a odd affiliation for heights.

"Do you want something?" Kairi just wanted to get home and lie down.

"Yeah. I want my girlfriend back, you thief!" Yuffie was not going to come down. All things considered, she would probably try to hit Kairi, and that'd end pretty badly.

Kairi guessed that Yuffie had somehow learned what had happened the night before. What should she say? Why did Yuffie come to her with this? Sure, she was part of it, but shouldn't she clear this with Olette? "Did you talk to Olette yet?"

"Not enough that you're hogging all the attention, being the mighty important Keyblader. No, that's not enough. You're trying to get all the girls as well. Is Naminé alone not enough?" Yuffie was already in a fury and was well on her way to start shouting.

"You should calm down. You're saying bullshit because you're angry." Kairi was pissed off. Yuffie had reason to be angry, but Kairi just couldn't accept Yuffie's taking it out on her. Especially if she hadn't talked to Olette.

Kairi left and didn't care about anything else Yuffie yelled after her. That girl had some problems. It wasn't her fault alone. Olette had played an equal part in everything. True, she felt guilty towards Yuffie for going along with Olette, but right now she was more mad than guilty.

Kairi stopped. She was mad? Did the feelings for Olette run deeper than she allowed herself to admit? Kairi didn't want to say things like, "It won't happen again." In fact, Kairi had been thinking about the kiss ever since that morning. Kissing Naminé was nice, and it wasn't like Olette was a better kisser. In fact, she was a bit worse and too cautious. But…Kairi couldn't help but feel that she wanted _more_.

This was becoming a real hassle. What should she do? She had at least to talk to Naminé first before Yuffie and her big mouth told her things that weren't true.

When Kairi got home, she could tell from the outside that it was better not to go into the house. Tifa and Aerith were in there arguing. Tifa was shouting, but Kairi couldn't understand it from where she was standing. Aerith was standing there like a statue—cold, angry and arms crossed.

Kairi watched them for a few minutes. Tifa proceeded to get more and more hyper. She was standing near the window now. She hadn't noticed Kairi yet. And then it happened. Tifa flailed her arms around wildly again and hit the window. There was enough power behind to send shards flying everywhere. The whole window was trashed.

"Fuck!" Tifa jumped back and shook her hand. She had several glass shards stuck in her hand. Touching any of them hurt like hell. Tifa was tough, but weak against things like this. Blood was already dripping onto the ground. This was the last thing she needed while fighting with Aerith!

"Hold still, idiot." Aerith grabbed her partner's wrist and surprisingly, Tifa stood still. Her tone had fundamentally changed. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she had injured herself like this after all, if she could patch things up now.

"I'll numb your hand with ice. It'll hurt a bit later, but bear with it." Aerith was still angry. She was unexpectedly the jealous type who didn't like it one bit if Tifa fooled around with other women. It had never happened before, so Tifa had been really surprised at how angry she had gotten.

"Thanks. It'd be a pain to remove these on my own." Tifa sat down and laid her hand on the table. It wasn't a very nice view. Half a dozen shards were stuck in her hand, four on the upside, two in the palm.

"You're really a klutz…didn't you notice you were standing next to the window?" Aerith finally calmed down. She knew she had a problem where she didn't notice just how angry she got when she snapped. She always felt sorry for it afterwards.

"Never fool around with Rydia again like that." Aerith blushed slightly after saying so and shut up Tifa for good by using ice magic on her wrist. It numbed the pain and Tifa could barely feel her fingers.

"I won't, I promise," Tifa sighed. She really wouldn't. If she had known that Aerith would get so angry, then…

Tifa twitched when Aerith pulled the first shard. Thanks to the cold, the blood wasn't flowing well, so it didn't bleed very much. The other shards followed quickly, which was followed by Aerith getting some bandages for her injured lover.

Tifa was still sitting at the table, waiting to regain feeling in her hands, when Kairi entered the room. Aerith was cleaning the floor after she had closed the shutter of the window to stop the warmth of the room from escaping.

Kairi pretended to be in the dark about what had happened. Tifa would flip if she knew that Kairi saw everything. "What happened here?" She stood, apparently confused, in the middle of the room.

"Tifa accidentally hit the window. I'll call someone to replace the window later," Aerith answered and Kairi had the odd feeling that the two wanted to be alone.

"I'll be in my room," Kairi simply stated and left for upstairs.

"Thanks for letting me keep my face." Tifa smiled faintly. "Aerith, I'm…really sorry. I really intended it as joke. I won't do something like that again." Tifa felt real remorse, as opposed to her fights with Leon.

"As long as you understand, it's fine," Aerith replied and finished up cleaning the shards. Thank God most had flown outside.

Tifa leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh. Aerith was really scary when she was angry. Thank God that was over with.

Aerith stood right behind Tifa and she leaned forward, looking down at the injured woman. "I'm not mad anymore, but the new window is gonna come out of your pocket, miss," Aerith said, smiling.

"I figured as much." Tifa shrugged and returned the smile.

Smiling wider, Aerith closed her eyes and let her head sink until her forehead touched Tifa's. "Did you know that some people are planning a big dance party at the castle? Do you think you still fit in your dress from back then?"

Tifa thought about the day she had confessed to Aerith and they had gone to live together. That one night at Reeve's place. Tifa blushed when she thought about how innocent she actually had been back then. It had been the best decision of her life to stop chasing after someone who could only chase himself.

"Who's organizing the party?" Tifa dodged the question about the dress. Aerith didn't know yet that Tifa had accidentally ruined that dress and had yet to buy a new one for such occasions. She would probably get mad again.

"Rydia is doing most of it. A few people are helping her. I don't know the details, but a girl that works in the tailor shop…I think Garnet is her name…is doing this to advertise for the shop. If you buy a dress there and you're a dance participant, you get a discount." Now Tifa could see where this was going.

"Okay, we'll go there tomorrow." Tifa feared for her wallet, but Aerith didn't ask for such things often, so it was okay. Maybe it was unexpected for the woman, but she kissed Tifa as reward. A slow, gentle kiss that made clear that she had forgiven her now.

---Valiant Hearts---

Kairi found Naminé lying on the bed, still plagued by headache. It would be nice to be able to ask Aerith what to do against magic headaches, but thinking about it, Kairi really didn't want to butt in. Tifa and Aerith let her stay in this house and fed her and everything and didn't ask for anything in return. They were her family. So she was being considerate and was giving them time alone.

Sitting down on the bed next to the exhausted girl, Kairi patted her head to get the girl to look at her. "How are you feeling?" It was obvious that the answer wouldn't be good, but Kairi wanted to ask anyway.

"Better now. You're staying with me for a while?" Naminé's voice was like a plea for help. Kairi smiled genuinely and leaned towards the girl, kissing her on the cheek.

"Sure. But…I have to tell you something before that." Kairi's heart suddenly beat faster. It wasn't that she was scared Naminé could get angry. It was the possibility that Naminé would get sad that scared her.

"Yesterday, on the observation deck after you fell asleep…" Kairi couldn't look straight into Naminé's blue eyes. "Olette and I…kissed. We sat there too, for a while, holding hands. And while we were in the future…we also kissed once." Kairi felt suddenly pretty terrible for admitting these things.

"I know. I didn't know you also did in the future, though. Yuffie told me. She got all mad about it. Why are you all so concerned about it?" Naminé was still puzzled as to why everyone was so hung up on a few kisses.

"We kiss all the time, and Olette or Yuffie don't complain about that. What's so different if you and Olette kiss?" Naminé could see that Kairi was seemingly shrinking back every time she said "kiss."

"It's complicated," Kairi said, and thought about how to best explain this to the girl before her. She was practically immune to common sense, so that wouldn't work. But then how…

"Why? Why is it complicated? Why is it bad that you and Olette like each other? I don't mind if Olette kisses you…I don't want to kiss her myself, but if you both want to kiss each other, I don't understand why you shouldn't."

At that moment, the door opened. Olette came in, holding a book in her left hand. "Oh good, Kairi, you're home. I borrowed one of your books because I was bored and I'm here to…sorry, did I interrupt something?" Olette blushed a deep red when she saw Kairi doting on Naminé on the bed.

"Yuffie found out about what happened yesterday. She's pretty mad, and already had a go at me. Naminé knows, too." Kairi explained it short and dry, making Olette drop the book.

Olette knew this would happen, but she still couldn't stop herself. Why was she so weak? Why couldn't she just be happy with Yuffie? Why did her life have to be so stupidly complicated? Why did she feel sad despite the fact that _she_ had taken the initiative by kissing Kairi?

"Olette, are you feeling sick?" Naminé looked at her friend.

"No…just feeling a bit dizzy." Olette staggered and Kairi jumped up to catch her. She had taken it much worse than expected. If she was going to be like this, then why had she kissed her?

Kairi got Olette to lie down on her bed next to Naminé and stared down right into the green eyes of the girl below her. She couldn't help but feel that this issue wasn't going to end very well.

---End of Chapter XX III---


	24. Black Sand – Evils Reckoning

Author note: As a few of you have noticed, updates on Valiant Hearts have been slow. Thats because I am trying to bring the other two stories a bit more up to date, and it works wonders for my inspiration to write something different for a while. VH2 will still go on, don't worry, but I am currently focusing a lot on Hear my Song ( and I am struggling to get on with Limitless ) so bear with me.

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX IV

_Black Sand – Evils Reckoning_

"Eternal life does sound promising…but first, I shall see to Aladdin's destruction." The ruler of the Land of the Black Sand had the black lamp in his tight grip. His blue outfit was an eerie image among the shadows of the throne room.

The massive red genie floated, motionless, next to the wizard. He was not happy that the human had released him. The human was so…_cautious_ with his wishes. He refused riches, refused power. Only the promise of eternal youth and life had sparked some interest in him.

The red genie was now bound to the black lamp. What an error he had made, ordering that filthy mongrel of a blue genie to make him a genie himself. He should have known that power came with a compromise of sorts.

Mozenrath, the name of the wizard who had found the red genie's lamp, was also the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand. With a single movement of his powerful magic glove, the wizard vanished into thin air.

It was a simple teleportation spell. He reappeared deep underground, in a cell without light. A single chamber hundreds of meters under the earth, where Mozenrath kept _him_ prisoner.

"Aladdin, how does it feel to finally taste defeat?" The wizard stood right in front of the young lad who was chained to the wall. Next to him was a cage that contained the big tiger that belonged to Princess Jasmine, as well as the annoying bird and monkey that Aladdin kept with him.

Mozenrath kept the boy's genie sealed in a separate chamber. His own genie had been…of valuable help in doing so.

"You aren't going to get away with this, Mozenrath!" the lad yelled, and he tried to break free of his chains. It was a rather futile attempt with his agile but not especially muscular frame.

"Excellent. Defiance in the eyes of inevitable defeat and loss. Just what I would expect from you, Aladdin." The red genie then laughed and took form, showing himself to Aladdin for the first time.

"Jafar!" Gasping with surprise, the boy's eyes widened in terror. If there was anyone worse than Mozenrath, then it was Jafar, the wizard who had taken over Agrabah not so long ago and who had only been beaten because of his greed for power.

"Indeed." The genie had now taken the form of a middle-aged man with red and black clothes and a long snake staff. "Welcome to your own personal hell, Aladdin."

"You can't kill me, Jafar! It's against the genie rules!" Aladdin smiled—only to be hit by a beam of black energy. Mozenrath was grinning in a devilish manner. "But I guess _he_ can…"

"How about you leave him to me? He will be…surprised by what he can live through." Jafar was grinning smugly and he leaned forward, looking right into Aladdin's eyes. He would not be robbed of his revenge on the boy.

"I was planning to torture him myself, but I guess since you cannot kill him, I can let you have that little…pleasure." With monstrous laughter, the wizard again vanished into thin air, leaving the animals and the boy alone with the genie.

Despite the extreme barrier between the surface and the underground chamber, Mozenrath was sure he could hear Aladdin's screams of agony, which he found most pleasurable. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his mumlocks, his undead warriors and guards. "Find Princess Jasmine and that flying rug! Bring them to me…alive." He nearly hissed the last words and broke out into laughter. Everything was going as planned.

But there still was a problem. Jafar refused to tell him how exactly he had lost his last battle against Aladdin. There must be something the genie was hiding from him. He would learn…in time.

- Valiant Hearts -

Olette felt terrible. She still hadn't resolved her issues with Yuffie, and now Leon had called them for a new mission. But for the first time, she pushed aside personal feelings for just a little bit and concentrated on the mission in front of her.

"Kairi liberated that world in our crusade against Ansem's forces. But now something seems to have happened. Cid's tech is getting measurements of Heartless that we've never seen before. Kairi, I think you can explain better what exactly happened back then." Leon leaned on his favorite spot on the wall, while the girls were sitting in various spots, wearing their battle clothing.

"When I first went to Agrabah, the place was ruled by a wizard called Jafar. He was powerful, but with the help of a local boy named Aladdin and his genie, I was able to beat him. He ended up wishing himself into a genie to claim the world's heart for himself, but that was his demise. A genie is bound to a magic lamp, which can be used to control him. We made use of that and sealed him away. Then we hid the lamp." Kairi finished her report and looked at Leon.

"From what we know, we can assume that Jafar, now with the power of a genie, is responsible for the attack of the Heartless that occurred a while ago. We don't know if it was a warning or a trap to lure you there. Either way, we have little choice but to send you there. The gateway you used last time is still unstable. Cid invented a machine to open the portal safely, but you still need to be cautious when using it. Nothing like that malfunction has ever happened before, but does look like Jafar is responsible for that as well." Leon took a small break.

"We can safely assume that someone found the lamp and freed Jafar. Your mission is to go to Agrabah, restore order, and remove or kill Jafar if possible.

"From what we know, the laws of magic in that world are different. Magical beasts such as genies would not be affected by simple magic or weapons. The Keyblade is special, but it's untested. Thankfully, there is no sign of the Organization being involved in this." Leon looked from one girl to another. "Mission start is at 2200 hours. Get ready." He stood up straight and nodded. "Good luck."

Kairi had already explained the necessary things to the other girls. Beside their clothes, weapons, and rations, they needed special clothes to blend in and to be protected from the desert climate.

All three of them wore long capes that protected them from the sandy winds in every direction along with a head cloth. It was shortly after nine—in less than one hour they had to leave. Olette wanted to go and look for Yuffie, but they still had things to do.

Tifa and Aerith were waiting for them back at their house, and when they arrived, Aerith took Olette aside to recharge the lingering magic in her clothes. On a mission, Naminé could do it as well, but it was better for her at this point to conserve her power. Tifa gave Kairi and Naminé a few tips regarding the desert and dealing with wizards.

Olette gasped and twitched when Aerith shot raw magical energy into her clothes. It really helped her to avoid injuries, but the fact that Aerith had to recharge them because Olette lacked magical power herself was rather annoying. It hurt quite a bit, too.

"Have you seen Yuffie, Aerith?" Olette asked while the woman circled around her, testing the magical flow here and there, giving a small nod each time she found it to be satisfying.

"No. I'm sorry, Olette. Did something happen? Yuffie seemed a bit…angry the last time I saw her." Aerith gave Olette a pat on the head. "I almost forgot. Rydia brought this over earlier." Pulling a black headband from her pocket, she gave it to Olette. "It's the same thing Yuffie has, but this one is enchanted."

Olette grabbed the band. Hesitating slightly, she put it on. It fit to the inch. It also held some of her hair back, which could be useful in a fight. She had thought about getting a shorter cut before because of that.

"Thanks. Tell Rydia I'm grateful." Olette looked at the clock. Less than thirty minutes. They had to go.

Naminé and Olette went ahead and left, saying their goodbyes to Tifa and Aerith. Kairi stayed behind for a minute.

"I'll bring them back alive. Don't worry about us." After seeing the smiles on the faces of the two women, Kairi left and joined up with the other two girls.

Cid was already in place. He had finished adjustments on his gateway stabilizer. The portal was still dangerous, but he had found a way to stabilize it, which would give them the chance to go through it. Since there was no way to contact Hollow Bastion while at another world, he had to keep the portal open and seal the zone in case the girls came back.

"Y'all ready to go and kick ass?" Cid laughed and took a deep drag of his cigarette.

Kairi looked at her clock. It was ten minutes before ten. It would still take some time to open the gateway. They were right on time. "Yes."

Simultaneously, multiple Keyblades appeared. Two for Olette, and one for Kairi and Naminé each. They didn't know what was inside the portal, so just in case, they were going in full battle formation.

"Then let's start this thing up!" Cid hammered a few buttons and the machine started to emit a dark blue glow that grabbed the invisible portal. The previously dim outlines of the portal suddenly stabilized.

Naminé was the first to lift her Keyblade, and to the surprise of everyone, she shouted, "Wisdom!"

After getting confused looks from the others present, Naminé started smiling. "I read this in a book. The heroes go on an epic quest to vanquish evil. Each of them embodies something. I am Wisdom. Olette would be Power, and Kairi Courage. It was called _The Legend of Hyrule_."

Everyone started laughing. It was just like Naminé to come up with something so silly. Life was not as simple or easy as fiction, but why not? It certainly didn't hurt to be a little bit silly to relieve some stress just before a mission.

Naminé once again lifted her Keyblade, directed it at the portal, and with a deadly serious expression, she shouted, "Wisdom!"

Olette followed, lifting both her Keyblades and directing them at the gap in air. Taking a deep breath, she did it just like Naminé. Her voice triumphed far over Naminé's. "Power!"

Kairi felt a bit silly, but finished the scene by slowly lifting Oathkeeper to the gate. "Courage!"

The blades started to emit tiny light beams. They closed in on each other and finally merged in the place where the gateway was. A portal, one of darkness and mystery, opened in front of them. It was finally time—time to say goodbye to Hollow Bastion for some time and (how Naminé said it was so fitting) vanquish evil.

"Good riddance!" Cid yelled when everyone had jumped into the portal.

Not he nor the girls were aware that they had an observer, who stared at the portal with cold eyes.

The gateway was the same as ever…with one exception. There was a tremendous amount of Heartless right in front of the gateway that stretched far as they could see. There were much too many to get rid of one by one, but this was a bridge between worlds, the only place Naminé could go as wild as she wanted.

Kairi and Olette secured the front, cutting apart the Darkball Heartless that dared to approach them. Naminé was already gathering magic energy. Despite the fact that they didn't know what waited for them in Agrabah, it was better for Kairi and Olette to conserve their powers. If they didn't, Naminé alone would be up against the magic of a genie, and that was a losing battle, even for Aerith or Rydia.

Naminé was always growing, getting more powerful. And those Heartless would now feel her newly gained power."_Heir to the flames so eternal, burning the core of the soul, deliverer of fiery judgment, horned beast man of hell. Bring oblivion to those standing before me! Ifrit!_"

The ground split in front of Kairi and Olette, and two clawed paws arose out of it, pulling a heavy body behind them—a fire-breathing beast that was at least two meters in height. Naminé had successfully summoned the beast Ifrit, one of the royal eidolons of fire.

"_Obliterate!_" Naminé shouted, and the beast howled.

With just a few swings of his monstrous paws, wrapped in all-burning fire, Ifrit cleared the path before them. Naminé knew she couldn't keep this up for the entire way, so a few swings later, she changed orders. "_Release your power!_"

Naminé felt a stab of pain in her head and she staggered back a few steps. She had never done this before, and Ifrit's strength was beyond her expectations. Ifrit howled again and floated just a few feet above the ground. Fire surrounded him like comets of destructive power. With an ear-piercing howl, the eidolon flew through the Heartless, burning everything in his way to a crisp.

The path was clear. Olette offered support for Naminé, but the girl had already recovered. She knew she couldn't be a shackle on their legs forever.

Giving it their all, the girls ran. Cid and everyone could deal with a few measly Heartless.

Kairi didn't remember the way to Agrabah being so long. After a few minutes of running, Naminé was out of breath, but still keeping up. Aerith had taught her how to use a combination spell that was called Haste. It really helped her and Kairi to keep up with Olette, whose speed was unbelievable.

"Stop! It's right here!" Kairi stopped just as the Haste spell wore off. It had been a short-lived experience, but the spell was still useful. Kairi could never learn combination magic, and she once again was grateful Naminé was with her.

Kairi had no time for silliness now, so she opened the portal on her own, finding the exact point on instinct. The gateway opened, and all three of them jumped through. The pathway was once again filled with Heartless—something powerful must have caused them to appear.

And Kairi saw that it was something powerful indeed. Agrabah had changed.

The ground was the first thing they noticed. The sand was black, a dark shining sand that Kairi had never seen before. The city was virtually deserted, the streets empty, the market quiet. The palace was no longer where it used to be. It floated easily a hundred feet in the air over its initial position.

Kairi felt the danger immediately. Pulling Naminé and Olette by their arms, Kairi hid them in an empty house. What followed was rather disgusting. Eight zombies—that was the only possible explanation Kairi could come up when she looked at them—walked past the house, seemingly on patrol.

"Those aren't Heartless," Olette said, and immediately put a hand over her mouth. The zombies didn't seem to notice her. At least they weren't very bright.

The three of them went further into the house, hiding on the ground. "What's going on here, Kairi? I've never seen this world before, but I can tell it isn't supposed to look like this." Olette was confused. Zombies walking around was certainly _not_ normal.

"You're right. This used to be a lively desert town. That flying palace over there must be Jafar's work. I don't know where the zombies came from. Genies are restricted from killing and resurrecting people." Kairi was well informed on these things from the last time she'd been there.

"Let's lie low and get to the palace. It's dark, but we should be careful." Kairi looked at the other two, who acknowledged her words as an order. Leaving their Keyblades—they would attract the Heartless—they began their infiltration. As they moved closer, they found out what had happened to the people of Agrabah.

On the roof stood two human statues. It was clear that they had been human at some point. Their expressions, their clothes…everything pointed towards that fact. They had been petrified alive, turned from flesh to stone.

Kairi was not sure if it was Jafar's work, but it sure looked like it. But why rule over a kingdom with nobody to rule…unless this was just a temporary measure. What was Jafar planning…?

Olette found it much easier than the other two to jump from roof to roof, while Naminé needed her and Kairi's help. After a while, Olette simply grabbed the sorceress by her waist and jumped while holding her.

It was too easy…_much_ too easy to get near the palace. Something was up.

Part of the palace's dungeon was still visible in the ground. Whatever had lifted the building had done so with brute force. Zombies were patrolling the streets in massive numbers. It was sheer luck that they had gone undetected until now.

"How are we going to get up there?" Naminé said.

"It's risky, but let's look for the boy who helped me last time. He had a genie and a flying carpet. We could use those. Naminé, you wait here. Olette, you'll know him when you see him. He has short puffy black hair and he's usually accompanied by a small monkey and the flying carpet. You're the fastest of us, but try to be cautious. Jafar hesitated to get rid of me when he had the chance, but he probably won't commit the same error again," Kairi ordered, and looked around. This place was as good as any. It was high, and the walls provided some cover from the wind and curious eyes.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes." Olette jumped off the building, rammed her Keyblade into the wall, and used it as a stepping stone to reach the building across the street.

Kairi sighed. "_That_ wasn't subtle or cautious…"

She looked at Naminé; she still had things for her to do. "I want you to rest. I don't know when Jafar will notice us, and you've already summoned something." Kairi knew a lot about the strain of using magic. She had talked about it with Rydia and Aerith multiple times.

Naminé didn't object. She lay against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to relax her mind. It didn't take much to cancel the effect of a single summoning. She didn't have to sleep. Just closing her eyes and losing some fatigue was enough.

Kairi, in the meanwhile, monitored the streets. The patrols occurred in regular intervals. It was difficult to determine the zombies' strength without fighting them, but if they had to, then it was more advantageous to do so as far away from the palace as possible.

Half an hour passed. Naminé finished recovering, but remained on stand-by. She only stood up and moved around every ten minutes to prevent her body from falling asleep. In this way she continued to preserve her mental power in case of an emergency. Kairi was proud that Naminé had listened well to her explanations and rules.

There was no sign of Olette. Kairi began to anticipate the worst. But there had been no alarm. Kairi decided she would give her another five minutes until she alarmed Naminé and moved positions.

But before that, something unexpected happened. Kairi instantly recognized someone who was not part of her team.

It was the woman Aladdin had saved from Jafar last time. She was wrapped in black clothes and had her hair in a tight ponytail. Armed only with a whip, she was heading to the palace on a flying carpet. Kairi knew that what she was doing was suicide. Jafar would just shoot her down or capture her and the carpet both. By the time they flew past the place where Kairi was hiding, more than half the city was alarmed.

"Naminé! Shoot her down!" Kairi ordered and the blond witch instantly jumped up and took a few seconds to find her target. "Get her to land! Don't injure them if possible!"

They were allies, not enemies, but they were a liability, approaching like that. That woman might be brave, but evidently she was not very smart.

There was no time for incantations. Using Monochrome as an amplifier, Naminé fired multiple salves of ice magic at the carpet, forcing it to lower its altitude. Kairi could only hope that Olette was watching them.

Luck was on her side. From a nearby building, a shadow raced over the ground. After an enormous jump, the shadow crashed into the carpet, forcing it to land. The whole spectacle didn't take more than fifteen seconds.

"We're moving!" Kairi didn't wait for a reply. Naminé would follow her unconditionally anywhere. Leaving the roof, they headed down the street, where Olette was fighting off the zombie soldiers as she protected the woman and the carpet.

"Olette! Come on!" Kairi shouted, and summoned Oathkeeper to take care of two approaching zombie guards. She attacked them and they burst into smaller parts upon the impact of the weapon.

Olette caught up with them, keeping the rescued woman next to her. The carpet floated right above them.

"Naminé, let's get out of here!" Kairi said, and started to fire carefully at the approaching guards. They were useless—glass cannons. The Heartless that joined the fight because of the Keyblades posed much more of a threat. But they were attacking the guards too.

"_Dark Mist!_" Naminé shouted. Her spell wrapped the entire street in a thick fog. Kairi grabbed the hands of her fellow Keybladers and started running. She knew this part well enough from her observations to sense where the guards' blind spots were.

- Valiant Hearts -

Yuffie ran for her life. The zombies were no problem, but the guy who ordered them around surely was. She had been not cautious enough—trying too hard to look for Olette.

Dodging another beam of black energy, Yuffie jumped over the edge of a building, made a rapid descent, and threw a smoke grenade just below her before vanishing into the building behind her and going back up the stairs.

She was too smart for the wizard. She could hear him cursing and shouting for the zombies—he called them mumlocks—to look for the "pesky little girl." Who did that guy think he was?

But Yuffie had problems of her own. The room she was in suddenly blocked out all sound and light. It was dark before, but now she was in pitch-black darkness.

"You…are with the Keybladers." Someone's voice echoed in her head. Yuffie was unable to move. It was like she was wrapped in thick chains, or paralyzed. What trickery was this? The wizard had obviously lost her, so who…?

A face appeared before her, out of nothingness. It was a red face, with a smooth beard and a mustache, pointy ears, and empty yellow eyes. "You looked like you were in trouble. You're safe here. Excuse the little…_inconvenience_ my magic caused you."

Yuffie was doubtful. What was this thing? How did it know she was related to Olette and the others? There…was something odd about him. But she couldn't tell right away what. At least she could move now, even though the room was still pitch black. Something told Yuffie that this was no longer a room at all.

"Who are you? Why did you help me? And how did you know about the Keyblade?" Yuffie remembered parts about the reports from Kairi's first trip to this place. Something about an evil wizard being the source of the Heartless.

"I am a genie. Obviously I know about the Keybladers, those who banish the dark ones. And I helped you because I need your help." Jafar pulled a sad face as if he were telling a sob story. "The wizard you just escaped—he is my master. He wants to throw this world into darkness with my help."

"Why should I believe you? What if you're just one of the wizard's elaborate ploys?" Yuffie looked around for a way out, but no matter how far she went, it seemed like this space was just a few feet wide. She couldn't get away from the face.

"You do not have to believe me, but hear me out at least. I want your help. Free me from my master! I can grant anyone three wishes, and the wizard is already thinking of using them to throw this world into chaos!" Jafar had met enough heroes to know that the phrase "you do not have to believe me" was a surefire way of making them believe _anything_.

Yuffie took a deep breath. She remembered something about a genie. Hadn't the boy who helped Kairi beat the wizard had a genie? Could it be this one?

"Why do I need to free you? If you saved me from the wizard, can't you just escape from him as well?" Yuffie didn't know the slightest thing about how the whole genie business worked.

"I cannot. There are some things a genie is not allowed to do. I cannot kill, I cannot make someone love another, I cannot revive the dead, I cannot turn my magic against my master, I—"

"That's a lot of things you can't do. And how would I go about freeing you from the wizard? Would that mean I can be granted any three wishes too?" Yuffie imagined a really, _really_ big stash of materia.

"My lamp. We genies are bound to a lamp. The owner of the lamp, the one who holds it, owns the genie. The wizard has hidden the lamp in the palace. But I cannot show it to you or give it to you. Genie rules." Jafar was slowly making progress. "But there is one way for me to escape the rules."

Yuffie was a little curious. Escape the rules? "Does that mean you could kill, use your magic against your master, make someone love…another…" Yuffie's mind stopped working for just a second. If she were to own the lamp…

"Yes. Only slave genies are bound to the lamp. If you were so noble as to wish a poor genie free, I'd be able to fulfill any of your wishes. Not just three, but _any_. But nobody bothers to wish a genie free. I have been in service for over ten thousand years, and not once has my master considered wishing me free."

Yuffie was fighting in her mind. Was it right to believe him? But if he was speaking the truth…wouldn't that mean he could make it so that Olette forgot about her feelings for Kairi? So that she returned to Yuffie, and they could be happily together?

"Who says you won't just turn on me? Who hasn't heard it before! A powerful magic entity sealed in something, asking for a brave hero to release it. And the second the hero does, the entity kills the hero. Who says things aren't going to go that way?" Yuffie was still suspicious of the genie.

"Before you release me, you could wish for me to never harm you. You have three wishes. You can use up two before you wish me free! But only as free genie am I also free from rules. Is there one particular wish you would want fulfilled?" Jafar was smiling nicely. "Do you want me to revive someone from the dead? To kill an enemy of yours? To give you the love of someone you hold dear?"

Yuffie's eyes widened, and Jafar's grin turned smug. "I see you have someone on your mind. Someone you hold really dear, perhaps? Or maybe someone that has been stolen away from you? A nobleman you could never dream to reach? An old love you want to regain?" The girl didn't have to know that these things were actually outside his power. The rules didn't change for free genies.

Yuffie was shaking. Olette could be hers. Her feelings for Kairi would vanish completely. They could go back to how things were before. Joking around, living together, being happy. It was all…it was all Kairi's fault that her happiness was slowly being taken from her. It was not fair. Not fair at all!

"You could really do that?" Yuffie was wavering. The temptation was eating away at her. The jealousy in her head made her blind to the danger.

Jafar seemed to inhale a lot of air and grew in size. The rest of his genie body appeared, muscular and powerful, and he posed before Yuffie. "Phenomenal cosmic powers! But only as a free genie can I fulfill your wish for love or kill the wizard. But to free me, you first have to get my lamp back from him."

Jafar was so very close, he could literally taste victory already. "The wizard has hidden the lamp well inside the palace. Even I do not know where it is. I could only find it if he rubbed it. But he keeps me as I am, unable to return into my small but only home." It didn't hurt to tell a bit more of a sob story. The Keybladers and their friends were suckers for justice.

"Can you bring me to the palace? I don't have the tools with me to go there myself. I…I will free you, genie. But I will not completely trust you yet. I shall make a wish for you to never hurt me." Yuffie was not taking any chances. If she truly could get Olette back with this…

"I cannot, I am sorry. But I can give you the ability to go there. I shall return us to Agrabah." He snapped his fingers and Yuffie found herself on the roof of a house. Most of the city's houses looked the same, but she was sure it was the one she had passed on her run from the wizard.

Jafar snapped his fingers again and Yuffie felt kind of sick. She staggered backwards. Falling on her bottom, she noticed that she had grown black, spiky wings—the kind one would expect on a demon or succubus.

"With these, you should reach the palace easily. The lamp is small, black and…" Jafar thought for a second, snapped and created a black lamp that looked just like his. It was an ordinary oil lamp.

"It looks like this one. Please, find my lamp and release me from the influence of the wizard!" Jafar made his last plea and pretended to vanish. "He is calling me. I trust in you, girl!" With a single small puff of wind, he disappeared.

Yuffie had a few problems using these new wings of hers. It was difficult to just take off. Why couldn't that genie think of something better? But since they were part of her body, she could easily avoid the problem of losing her method of transport.

Way ahead of her, near the palace, there was quite a spectacle going on. Yuffie could tell, even as far away as she was. Someone was firing fire magic at something in the air. But it was too far to make out who was shooting and at what. But it could only be Naminé or Kairi. Olette must be with…her.

Yuffie gritted her teeth. She could only take so much. Olette was probably enjoying her time with Kairi already. Kairi. It was all her fault…if only she didn't exist!

Using the commotion to practice flying, Yuffie quickly got the gist of it. It was not really difficult, just tiring. She didn't even bother looking for Olette anymore. Kairi would just send her back, and Olette would happily obey. No…she had to get that lamp. And to get Olette back from that thief.

The palace seemed virtually unguarded. Yuffie approached from below, in the shadow of the floating thing. Not even mumlocks were there. But she couldn't let her guard down. If that genie thing really could grant any three wishes…then the lamp must be well protected.

Making her way up, Yuffie finally landed on a window ledge high up on a tower. This place was least likely to be guarded. While it seemed like a good idea to have a lot of guards around, Yuffie knew that a good disguise was more often than not a much better guard than a dozen of the best men one can find.

The wings were helpful in infiltrating the palace, but they were a hindrance when sneaking around. Yuffie had a hard time getting used to moving around without her wings knocking things over all the time.

The top room was just a stockroom full of old trunks. It seemed as if nothing was there, yet Yuffie looked through every box.

She would find that lamp. She would find it and get Olette back.

- Valiant Hearts -

"I remember you. You helped Aladdin beat Jafar." Jasmine, the princess of Agrabah, sat in front of Kairi. Olette stood guard, and Naminé backed up Olette in case of an emergency.

"It was a bit different than what you've probably heard, but yes. We worked together. What's going on here?" Kairi was hungry for information. It was incredibly lucky to get both a means to reach the palace and a source of information all at once. Fortuna must be shining on her.

"Mozenrath. He is the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand to the east. He found Jafar's lamp and has taken over Agrabah. All the others were captured or turned to stone. Can you help us?" The princess looked desperate. She and her friends had dealt with a lot of villains up to now, even Mozenrath, but Jafar and Mozenrath together bore a dangerous combination.

"We can make use of the flying carpet. He'll be very useful. Our main goal is to get rid of Jafar. He's luring the Heartless to this place." When talking to the denizens of worlds, Kairi never got into much detail about exactly what the Heartless were. If the people asked, she just said they were monsters from the darkness.

"We need to wait until things have calmed down a bit. I've never been inside the palace. I will take you with us as a guide." Kairi knew it was risky, but she had little choice. Wandering blindly about in Jafar's lair, with another wizard being there too, was suicide.

"We could use the genie Aladdin had," Kairi said. "Has he been captured too?" It didn't take a genius tactician to decide that it was best to pitch one genie against another.

"You saw the big crystal in the middle of the palace? That is the Crystal of Ix. Mozenrath uses it to trap genies." Jasmine remembered their many encounters with Mozenrath in the past year. "He can only trap one at a time, so Jafar is still out and about. Knowing Mozenrath, he'd never let something more powerful than himself roam free."

"You sound like you know a lot about this wizard guy. Tell me more. It'll be more advantageous for us if they think we're gone. We'll infiltrate the palace just before dawn, so we have plenty of time." Kairi sat down. Nobody had their Keyblades out. It was just stupid to needlessly attract the attention of the Heartless now.

"He's scum. Very ambitious scum," the princess said. "He wants to rule all of the Seven Deserts. One of those is his own kingdom, the Land of the Black Sand. His source of power is a magical glove on his right hand. Without that, he cannot do anything. He creates and controls his zombie legion, the mumlocks. He is every bit as wicked and evil as Jafar, but not as powerful or smart."

Jasmine summoned up everything they knew about Mozenrath. She was well aware that the three warriors wouldn't understand all the details she knew from her adventures, so she kept it to just the important facts.

"And he is obsessed with magic. He has sensors everywhere to register magic. I don't know why they aren't going off near you. It makes no sense."

Kairi instinctively knew that it was obvious they wouldn't work on them. This was an alien world. Their magic was entirely different from Naminé's and her own. Keyblades were special to begin with. This was an enormous advantage.

"Our magic is special." Kairi didn't need to tell her they were from another world. It was one of the rules to not carelessly tell people that there were other worlds beside their own. Nobody knew exactly how it worked, but once that knowledge spread and became common knowledge, the barrier holding the Heartless back weakened considerably. To spread that knowledge was to doom the world.

"Does the carpet respond to any special name?" Kairi wanted to make sure the rug actually listened to her. It would be certain death to fall over hundred feet from the floating palace and hit the ground. She wanted to avoid that.

"Just Carpet. We all call him that." Jasmine looked at the flying carpet that was lying on the ground, silent and unmoving. Was he resting? Did carpets get tired in the first place?

"Rest until one of us wakes you." Kairi stopped when she finally remembered something important. "I'm Kairi. The blond girl is Naminé. The brunette is Olette." Turning around again, Kairi left to relieve Naminé from her post.

"What did she say?" Olette didn't look at Kairi, just whispered. The number of patrols had increased drastically. They knew someone was here and that they meant trouble.

"A magic-obsessed wizard and an evil genie. Just our luck. At least there is no sign of the Heartless showing up without us drawing weapons. No sign of the Organization, either." Kairi looked over her shoulder and saw Naminé talking to the princess.

She had told the witch girl that it was their top priority to keep it a secret where they came from. Kairi hoped that Naminé had not forgotten that.

"We cannot fight a genie face to face. We can't hurt him. While he can't kill us, you'd be surprised what you can live through," Kairi said, and looked at Olette. She wanted to talk to her about Yuffie, but this was a mission. Such things had to wait. Saving this world from its destruction was their primary goal.

"It's handy to have you around in times like these, Olette. Magic obviously won't help us here. But wizards are prone to be physically weak. If it comes down to it, can you do it?" Kairi didn't need to say what she had to do. Olette was prepared to kill ever since they had barely escaped with their lives from that blond member of the Organization.

"I won't hesitate to kill him. If I have to stain my hands with blood, then at least let it be the blood of evil." Olette clenched her fists. If necessary, she would crush him with her bare hands. No more hesitation in destroying the enemy. Almost dying once was more than enough.

"I'm counting on you." Kairi tapped Olette's shoulder and took a few steps back. "Naminé, how are you feeling?" Kairi was always worried about the girl's mental condition. On a mission, it was crucial for her to be in top condition at all times.

"You're worrying too much, Kairi. You saw what I'm capable of in the mock battle. I'm not made of glass." Naminé looked serious, and Kairi felt a little stab in her heart. It was true, she was worrying too much.

"But thank you for worrying." Naminé stood up and kissed Kairi on the cheek. She was not embarrassed, kissing Kairi in front of someone unknown.

Jasmine had the decency to look away, but she couldn't help but ask herself if those girls were all…that way. But that didn't matter now. If they could save Agrabah, then she welcomed all help. And they certainly acted like professionals. The clothes, the weapons, their behavior. Not even the palace guards were like this.

"It's 0100 hours. We're starting the infiltration at 0130 hours," Kairi said in a low voice. In a world where there were genies and sorcerers, the walls probably had ears. "Olette, I have a job for you before we start. I trust you can handle it."

"I'll stir things up somewhere else, right?" It played out to their advantage that the Heartless were also attacking the zombies and that the people of Agrabah were stone statues for the time being. It all seemed too easy. Like someone had expected them to come.

"Be careful. You're strong and fast, but if either Jafar or Mozenrath gets you, we have a problem. I trust you that won't happen." Kairi looked at Olette, who just showed she had understood with a nod. "Good luck."

"I don't need luck. But thank you." Olette smiled and vanished down the street. The patrols were due in ten minutes, so she had more than enough time to avoid them.

"Once she returns, we will immediately leave for the palace. They will concentrate their forces on looking for Olette and they'll have to deal with the Heartless. It's risky, since they might see through our plan, but it's the best choice we have to make it into the palace undetected," Kairi explained to the princess. She expected Naminé to understand basic strategies like this by now.

Lying down, the three girls could hear and see dozens of guards running away from the palace after a while. Kairi estimated that the clash between Olette and the mumlocks was taking place near the gate. It would be perfect if the enemy were to think that Olette was a reinforcement.

"Follow me." Kairi waved Naminé, Jasmine, and the carpet to go to the roof. Olette would find a way to get to them. It was time to leave and to infiltrate the palace.

- Valiant Hearts -

Olette was dealing with much more than she had anticipated. There weren't just a few Heartless—there were hundreds of them. It was at the level where she couldn't take it easy anymore. Running over the street towards the palace, multiple large-scale Heartless were blocking her way. The mumlocks were nothing more than obstacles to her, too slow and weak to be a threat.

Throwing Circle of Life and cutting the massive Heartless on the left in half, Olette stepped on the smoldering remains of the killed Heartless without hesitation. She used it as a stepping stone and cut off the head of the other large Heartless next to her. She had adapted quite a few techniques of her own, but this was hardly the moment to test them out.

Recalling the second blade, Olette slashed and hacked her way through the smaller Heartless with ease, eventually using full force because it was harder to restrain herself from doing so.

When she turned a corner, Olette found herself in a pinch. There were Heartless everywhere. It was an invasion. She couldn't be the only one attracting these Heartless.

Doing a double backflip, Olette did something she would later regret. Taking a deep breath, and slashing horizontally at the approaching saber-wielding Heartless, she started to spin around her own axis, using Hero's Crest as centrifugal force to keep spinning faster and faster.

Olette let go of Circle of Life, and the blade flew with monstrous speed into the masses of the Heartless. She recalled the blade immediately. Repeating the process in increasingly faster intervals, she turned the area into a hail of Keyblades.

But it was too hard to keep it going continuously. Instead of slowly spinning out, Olette rammed the newly-returned blade into the ground, coming to a brutal hold. She was the only one of the three Keybladers who could withstand such an act. Kairi would have surely lost her arm.

Olette's vision was still shaky, but the Heartless were vastly decimated. Using both Keyblades as anchors, she rammed them into the wall, then moved up the wall like a spider. In times like these, her enormous strength came in handy. The Heartless below quickly started to disappear, and the first shadow Heartless appeared on the roof. She didn't lose any more time. Olette cut away whatever dared to extend its ugly head out of the shadows. It was not much further to the meeting point.

In fact, she could already see them. They were waiting for her. Jumping across the gap between two buildings with ease, her landing slightly unsteady, Olette continued to run and cut away the Heartless in her path. A big building was before her, and there was already a mass of Heartless on it.

Holding both Keyblades up and jumped much too high for a normal jump across buildings, Olette laid waste to the entire roof with one mighty blow. The ceiling crumbled from the enormous impact and the Heartless were falling like flies. Olette had just crushed everything in her path.

"Fly!" Olette shouted, and Kairi turned around. When she saw her companion, she gave the order to the carpet to fly. She trusted Olette blindly.

Olette ran as fast as she could, jumping from fragment to fragment, making it to the next building. In terms of distance, she was ahead of the others, but they were on the other side of the street. Throwing both Keyblades at the Heartless behind her, Olette jumped with all her might.

Flying over the street, Olette gained height—and then lost it. The ground was coming closer quickly. But she, too, trusted her partners. She stretched her arm out, and just before she hit the roof line of the buildings, someone grabbed her hand.

They were flying at maximum speed. Kairi was on her knees on the carpet, holding Olette's hand in a tight grip. "Got you."

But they were not long out of danger. A weird type of flying Heartless with wings was right on their tail. The carpet did its best to avoid the saber-wielding, flying versions of the Heartless below them.

"I remember those. What are they doing here?" Kairi knew this kind from her trip to a world called Neverland. But what were they doing in Agrabah? Were the Heartless getting stronger?

Jasmine was too afraid of these things to even ask what they were. At least they couldn't hurt the people of Agrabah. And she had her hands full watching out for the flying bastards. It came in handy that she knew how to use a whip.

Kairi pulled Olette up onto the carpet. Naminé was already getting ready. Good. Kairi organized the situation and took control. "Fire away! Forget about the ones behind us. Olette, you take care of anything that comes close. Naminé, blast free a way to the palace."

"_Thundaga!_" Naminé shouted, and a rain of lightning annihilated potentially hundreds of Heartless. They were quickly replaced, but the carpet was quite fast. They were halfway there when Naminé unleashed her second salve of magic and obliterated another squadron of Heartless.

"Where the hell are they all coming from?" Olette shouted. Thank God she had mastered the trick of recalling thrown Keyblades. It was a mighty important trick right now. If only she had more Keyblades! There was a small delay between throwing and recalling a blade.

"I suppose this is Jafar's work. He was behind this the first time as well," Kairi said, and fired several salves of fire magic at approaching Heartless. They were still the same brainless foot soldiers as always. Easy to kill, but dangerous in numbers.

"I'm sorry, but this salve is probably going to hit the palace!" Naminé shouted, and fired another serving of Thundaga magic right at the approaching forces. Part of it hit the palace and caused severe destruction, but the way was clear. They successfully made it into the palace and were right above the garden.

"Princess, what's below here?" Kairi had an idea, but they had to act quickly. Jafar, if he wasn't the one that had sent the Heartless after them, was very likely aware that they had entered the floating palace.

"Part of the dungeon," Jasmine answered, not entirely sure. The palace had been slightly…remodeled by Mozenrath and Jafar.

Kairi nodded, gave Naminé a sign, and had the carpet rise higher.

"_Firaga!_" Naminé blasted a hole through the ground and Kairi steered the carpet right below the garden grounds. There was a multitude of corridors, and Kairi took the smallest one. If anyone followed them, they had Naminé for long-range protection and Olette for close range. If they couldn't surround them, they had the advantage.

The girls jumped off. The ground was wet and slippery. Their surroundings fit the stereotypical images of medieval dungeons a little too closely for Kairi's taste. The walls were made of thick dark bricks. This route must lead right to an exit in the ground, considering that part of the dungeon was still on the ground below them.

"Princess, are there any secret passages to the throne room?" Kairi knew they had to act first before the confusion of breaking into the palace was gone. Not even a genie could look everywhere at once. And the palace, just as Kairi guessed, had countless corridors and secret passages.

"Yes, follow me."

- Valiant Hearts -

"Where were you, Jafar? There are intruders in the palace! And the city is full of some kind of weird black magic creatures. My sensors are useless now!" Mozenrath walked up and down in the throne room, the genie quietly floating a few feet in the distance, listening to the sorcerer's ranting.

"I was casting a barrier around the palace to prevent said creatures from coming in. They are called the Heartless. They follow the Keybladers, very dangerous individuals, everywhere they go." Jafar had not told the wizard too much of other worlds and of the Heartless. Mozenrath didn't seem interested at all anyway. He was satisfied ruling just the Seven Deserts. What a narrow-minded and _small_ wizard he was. Weak both in power and ambition.

"I do not care who they are! I want them gone. Nothing shall stand between me and my rule over the Seven Deserts!" Mozenrath growled. "Genie! Get rid of them!"

Jafar pretended to obey and vanished into thin air. What a stupid man Mozenrath was. To think he could command _him_, the greatest wizard ever to be, like some common creature! How surprised that pathetic wizard would be when he learned that it was he, Jafar, who would rule over Agrabah, the Seven Deserts, and more—with the power of the Heartless.

Reappearing in the royal treasure chamber, he looked around. The girl was quite clever. Even he had trouble finding her when he really wanted to. Tired of the little game of hide and seek, he simply spoke up.

"Girl. You must hurry with finding the lamp. The wizard is getting impatient. I do not know how much longer I can stall him." Jafar's scheme was coming along nicely. "He has ordered me to make the Keybladers his allies. He wants the Keyblades. I fear the worst for your friends if he succeeds." Jafar didn't know as much about the Keyblades as Yuffie, but it was enough to know that they were desirable tools.

Yuffie, hidden under a pile of gold, freed herself and stood up. She would soon find the lamp. It had not been in the towers or the treasure room. The genie had taken away her wings. She no longer needed them, and they were a bother while looking for the lamp anyway.

"If you do not want to kill him, and I understand well a good girl like you wouldn't, there is this…crystal of his that we could use to trap him. He might very well use the crystal and try to trap me. Then your wishes shall never be granted, and he will eventually rule over all of the Seven Deserts…" He had to get rid of Mozenrath fast. Up until now, Jafar had been able to deceive him, but who knew how much longer Mozenrath would resist the urge to make a wish that changed Jafar's plans greatly.

Yuffie's expression changed when the genie mentioned that she could lose her wishes if the wizard trapped the genie. She would prevent that and kill him. All her thoughts were concentrated on Olette. Kairi didn't deserve her. She had Naminé, and even Tifa and Aerith.

She…she had nobody. Yuffie had no one other than Olette. And she would not allow the one person she loved to be taken away from her. Not by Kairi. Not by anyone else.

"I will get rid of him. But you need to stop him from getting to the Keybladers first." Yuffie looked around. There were barely any guards in the palace, and it was extremely unlikely they would check the treasure room. She was safe here.

"I will do all I can." Jafar bowed and vanished into thin air. Everything was going exactly as planned…

Well, not quite everything.

Mozenrath was much smarter than Jafar gave him credit for. But nothing of the knowledge he possessed stemmed from his own achievements. A small winged cat floated next to the young wizard, sitting on the throne. It was just so…predictable how things would end if Jafar had his way with them. It had been time to spice things up a little.

"So Jafar is trying to remove the lamp from my reach. It doesn't matter. I still have the Crystal of Ix. No genie or magical being can escape it. Except you, Chaos." Mozenrath turned to the ever-smiling cat.

"Oh, no need to thank me." The cat named Chaos started to laugh. "I just…made things a little less…_predictable!_" He floated off and vanished into thin air, only his laughter remaining in the grand hall.

"It's time to meet those intruders." Mozenrath didn't know the palace well, but Chaos had been very helpful. With a big swing of his glove, he covered himself with dark energy and vanished. Jafar would not have his way with him, oh no.

When he appeared right below the throne room, he was instantly forced to the ground, and rolled onto his back. Two large blades loomed over him, threatening to cut off his head. Whoever the intruders were, they were well prepared and…he saw a familiar face.

"Chaos! You betrayed me!" Mozenrath cursed.

"Oh no. I just made…" He never got to finish his line.

"Things less predictable? I should have known!" Mozenrath hissed. Looking over his shoulder, he could barely believe what he was seeing. Three girls, armed to the teeth with long blade-like weapons, and Princess Jasmine. He had hit the ground so hard, he was sure a guy twice his size had knocked him down.

He then took a deep breath, regaining his calm. "I've come to offer a deal."

"What could you possibly offer, Mozenrath?" Jasmine stepped in front and talked to the wizard on the ground. Olette was ready to cut off his head if he made a suspicious move.

"Your friends' lives." He grinned diabolically. Jasmine looked at Kairi with pleading eyes, but Kairi pulled her back.

"What do you want in exchange?" she asked.

While it was Kairi's policy not to mess with alien worlds' affairs too much, it also was her priority for everyone to stay alive. And "everyone" was, first and foremost, her own team.

"I want you to help me trap Jafar in the large crystal in the center of the palace. He is both our enemy. After that, we will go our separate ways. Nothing more." Mozenrath was sure they would take the deal.

"Not good enough. We help you, you release your prisoners, and tell us how to permanently get rid of Jafar," Kairi said, and winked Olette. The blades moved closer together.

Mozenrath had problems talking without the edges cutting into his throat now. "Okay, okay. You win. To get rid of a genie, you have to destroy his lamp. But Chaos told me that the lamp is being hunted by an outsider, with Jafar's help. One of you?" He was still held on the ground, but Olette now giving Kairi a questioning look.

"Not one of us. We were the first to infiltrate the palace." Kairi gave the other two a meaningful glare. They had better not contradict Kairi. This guy didn't need to know that there were only three of them.

"You need to lure Jafar to the balcony or somewhere outside. The crystal's tracking beam cannot pass solid matter." He only told them what they needed to know. After Jafar was in the crystal, and his power was at Mozenrath's command, he would annihilate them. For he was not bound to the silly rules of the genies.

"If you do not honor your deal—" Kairi pointed the edge of Oathkeeper at the throat of the wizard. "We _will_ kill you. Do not fool yourself into thinking your magic will work on us. These weapons are special. Not even a genie is immune to them." Kairi was lying her ass off, but Mozenrath seemed to buy it.

He knew nothing about these outsiders, and he had never even heard of weapons like these. They…resembled a mixture of a sword and a giant…key? No matter what kind of weapon it was, they were not joking about using them. But what did it matter? They might resist the magic itself, but one could do much more than that with the power of a genie.

"I shall wait at the crystal. Once you lured Jafar outside, the crystal will react by itself and capture him. After that, we will be enemies." Mozenrath had done well, not telling anyone for what purpose he was trapping Jafar. "After we trap him, we will have all the time in the world…to clear our differences." Yes. He'd have time to destroy those pesky outsiders.

Kairi smelled something fishy. A villain _never_ made a fair deal. He would betray them as soon as Jafar no longer posed the bigger threat. But for now, there was little choice.

"Olette, hit his face. Make it look like he escaped us narrowly." Kairi gave the order to beat the surprised wizard without the slightest regard for the fact that he was human too.

Olette clenched her fist and hit the wizard so hard that he was lifted off his feet and crashed in the wall. A couple hits later, his face was littered with injuries. Letting her knuckles crack, Olette took position for one last hit when Kairi held her back.

"That's enough. Go, wizard. We will do our part. You do yours. We will come after you next."

Kairi decided that if they were involved this far into other worlds, they might as well clear up the mess Jafar had caused. The Heartless must have surrounded the castle in the thousands by now. Whatever held them back, once they got rid of it, Naminé had quite a job to do.

With a hissing sound, the wizard vanished as quickly as he had come. Jasmine was not sure if she was afraid of the toughness of these girls or simply amazed. Maybe a little of both. They seemed not to think of Mozenrath as human or even a living creature. The red-haired girl giving the order had been as cold as stone the whole time, and the brunette had monstrous strength and followed every order as faithfully as a religious fanatic. The power of the blond girl…she had seen that before. She was wielding magic powerful enough to make Jasmine think the girl was a witch.

"Naminé, you protect the princess. I am the only Keyblader that Jafar knows. As it was I who sealed him, he will try and take revenge on me. Olette, you keep an eye on Mozenrath. If he tries something suspicious, kill him. There are always other ways to get rid of Jafar."

It was just how things were done. There was no justice in a fight of life and death. The results counted, and Kairi was willing to accept the moral burden of using underhanded tactics. To begin with, the belief that the one playing fair and square won was a dream of fiction. It didn't work like that in real life.

"Princess, please get somewhere safe. Naminé, never leave her side. If something happens, try to track down one of us. Olette, you know what to do." Looking from one girl to another, Kairi added with a slight smile. "I trust you two. Go!"

Kairi took off on her own, just as Olette did. As the two separated at the next corner, Naminé was left behind with the princess and the carpet.

"We will be safe further down. Carpet, can you take us?" Naminé kept her grip tightly on her Keyblade. She was more useful in an actual fight. She didn't have the physical ability or stamina to participate in missions like these, but that was okay. They were a team. They covered each other's weaknesses.

The carpet took off and took them further down, deeper into the complicated dungeons.

Way above them, Olette was on her way to the room in the center of the palace. It was her bad luck that there didn't seem to be a direct way there. She reached the throne room and found it empty. Well, no other choice, then. Using her Keyblades, Olette simply crushed the closest wall and proceeded further. If she had to break every wall in the building, she would reach the center chamber with the crystal.

Kairi was at a loss. How could she attract Jafar's attention? The plan had been to avoid that very fact until they found a way to defeat him without directly exchanging blows. But now…she was standing in the garden, alone. Jafar didn't seem to fall for the trap.

And something was wrong. Kairi could feel it. There was something odd going on. She remembered what the wizard had said. "An outsider…what did he mean by that?"

Was it possible that King Mickey was here? But why would he hide the lamp? Were there other Keybladers?

Olette could answer Kairi's question. In front of her was Yuffie. But why was she here?

"I was looking for you, Olette!" Yuffie ran towards Olette, trying to embrace her. The brunette immediately jumped back and directed one Keyblade at her.

Was this Jafar's work? Was it really Yuffie, and not just something that looked exactly like her? It made sounds when it walked and it had a shadow. But…how and why would Yuffie be here? No. _No!_ She couldn't be deceived.

"It's really me!" Yuffie was getting desperate. With each step she came closer, the girl she loved moved further away.

Jafar appeared right behind Yuffie. "This is but a mirage Mozenrath has created to fool you," he whispered in the ear of the girl. The ninja turned around and seemed shocked. The power of the wizard was that great? But if this _was_ Olette…why didn't she recognize Yuffie?

The outsider who was looking for the lamp…Olette now realized who the "outsider" was. This Yuffie must be real, and Jafar was manipulating her.

"Yuffie! He's evil! He's Jafar, the wizard that Kairi beat in the past. Don't believe anything he says! We must destroy the lamp!" She had to get Yuffie away from him!

"See? He doesn't want you to free me. He is afraid of losing his power. He must be using the image of one of the Keybladers to confuse you!" Jafar was still whispering so Olette couldn't hear.

"Don't listen to him! Get away from him! We need to destroy the lamp and kill him!" Olette yelled and took a step towards Yuffie.

"He wants to kill me so that you cannot get your wishes granted. He doesn't want anyone but himself to have a genie if it comes down to it. His greed knows no bounds!" Jafar was grinning diabolically.

Yuffie threw a few shuriken at Olette's feet. Jumping back, the Keyblader was left with no other choice. If Yuffie was already under his influence, Olette just had to beat her and take her to safety.

But as she ran towards Yuffie, Jafar snapped his fingers, and Olette vanished in a flash of light.

"I made it disappear, but there is no telling what else Mozenrath will do to confuse you! Don't believe your eyes, don't believe what you see. I know his powers, I can help you," Jafar whispered. Yuffie nodded and took a deep breath. They had to go and find the lamp before it was too late!

When she opened her eyes, Olette felt like she had just been run over by something really, really big. Still, she jumped up and checked the area. Nobody was there. Where were Yuffie and Jafar? Why hadn't Jafar killed her? She was still in the same spot, and everything seemed normal. Pinching her arm, Olette twitched. It was real. It hurt like hell.

Summoning both Keyblades, Olette started running. It was oddly quiet. How long had she been out of it? What had happened in the meantime? Where was everyone? She finally reached the throne room, after minutes of running around. And finally…

Mozenrath. He was standing there, deep in thought. He didn't seem to notice her. Should she take the chance and get rid of him? She thought about it—if he had the leisure to stand around here, then either the deal was off and he was going to betray them, or it was already over and done with. So she really out to just go ahead and get rid of him. But where were Kairi and Naminé?

Olette would be able to sneak behind him. A surprise assault was the only way to get him. He was still a wizard, and she had her problems with such enemies.

Taking the opportunity, Olette ran at full speed towards the wizard, who noticed her an instant too late. With a powerful kick, he was slammed against the throne itself and landed on the ground. Olette was already over him.

"Where are the others? What happened to Jafar? What did you do, wizard?" She pointed one Keyblade at his throat, the other just inches away from cutting off his gauntleted arm.

But the wizard just laughed. "Fool! Your friends are no longer alive. I'm surprised you're still here. It's…been quite a while." He grinned wider. "You cannot kill me. Genie!" he yelled.

And nothing happened. What was wrong? Where was Jafar?

It was Olette's turn to smile. "I thought this would be difficult. To trap the genie. To get rid of the wizard. But it seems like it will be much easier than we thought. I give you one last chance. Where. Is. Everyone?" Olette exerted a lot of pressure on the stomach of the wizard by stomping on it. "_Talk!_"

But the wizard just laughed. He would never talk. "I am immortal! You cannot kill me, pesky little girl!"

"We shall see about that!" It only took a single swing. It almost seemed too easy to be true. Blood spilled on her legs and shoes, and it quickly covered the ground. The wizard had his throat slashed and was dying. No immortality. No genie. He was simply dying. But the true threat was still out there—Jafar.

Olette swung her Keyblade to get the blood off. The wizard was no longer alive. After all, he was just a sidekick to Jafar. But what should she do now? The wizard had not left her any clue. Maybe she should look for Kairi and Naminé first…

Turning around, Olette felt like someone had just turned her stomach inside out.

"Mozenrath? But, I just…" Swinging around, Olette felt like throwing up. Right before her was the corpse of Kairi. "But…he talked…and the body…how…why…?" Olette felt her head spin.

And the wizard took the chance. Firing a beam of dark magic at Olette, the girl was thrown against one of the large pillars at the corner of the room. Why…why…was it Kairi…?

The wizard didn't need to take any precautions anymore. The girl was as good as dead. As he aimed his glove at her and charged up magical energy, he planned to kill her in one blow. He was not bound to some silly rules. He could do as he pleased! "What a stupid brat you are to fall for my trap. And look! You murdered your friend! What a nice turn of events!" Mozenrath started to laugh. He laughed so loud that it rang in Olette's ears.

Olette gritted her teeth. It was all his fault…his fault! The bastard didn't just deserve to die. No, she would kill him with bare hands. He was much too slow if she anticipated his attacks. And she would find a way to save…to revive Kairi somehow. Somehow…

Mozenrath was surprised when the girl started to run towards the entrance at amazing speed. How could a little girl be so fast? He aimlessly fired several salves of magic, but all missed. The girl changed directions so often, it was impossible to hit her. He had to get out of here. Turning tail, Mozenrath started to run—but he was no match for the much quicker Olette.

With a brutal impact, Olette landed right on his back, throwing him on the ground. That glove was dangerous. Grabbing his arm, Olette roared with anger and broke the wizard's arm, who screamed out in pain. She then grabbed his throat.

The wizard was already pale. "Stop! Wait, I can offer you a deal!" he pleaded.

"You cannot revive the dead, wizard," Olette said, and slowly tightened her grip. The wizard struggled, tried to free himself, but one of his arms was broken and he was nowhere near strong enough to get rid of the girl. She didn't even seem to feel the punches she took.

He couldn't breathe. His throat was being crushed. With his last breath, he cursed. "_Damn you, Jafar…!_"

With a loud crack, his neck broke.

Olette sat on the corpse, looking down on her hands. Not just his blood…but that of Kairi was on her hands…how…how could she explain this to everyone? To…Naminé? How?

Steps on the cold marble floor got her attention. What now? Tense, Olette got up and recalled her Keyblades, ready for anything but what was coming.

It was Yuffie, accompanied by the evil genie, Jafar. Just _what_ was going on here? Why was Yuffie…?

Yuffie stopped and looked at the brunette with an equally shocked face. "What…have you done…?"

Her eyes went to the corpse near the throne. Kairi's corpse. And then…to the corpse of the wizard. Olette would not be fooled again. She had to make sure that this was really Yuffie.

"Yuffie, why are we staying at Aerith's place?" It was a question as good as any other. If Yuffie could not answer this…then she was just another trap.

"Why…did you kill Kairi and Naminé?" Yuffie ignored the question.

Olette's Keyblades dropped. What…but…she was afraid of turning around. Afraid that what Yuffie had said would come true. That she had fallen for the same trick _again_. She had felt the body of the wizard, she knew it couldn't have been a trick! It must be a lie…

But her eyes were not lying. Looking behind her, Olette stared at the strangled corpse of Naminé. Her face was distorted with disbelief and surprise, the eyes wide open in terror. Olette sank to her knees. It couldn't be true. No…_it couldn't be true_…

Light steps echoed through the room. Yuffie was coming closer. Olette's will to fight had left her. She had killed the two people she had considered true friends before any other. And now they were gone…even if they could be revived somehow…they would not forgive her. Nobody would forgive her. It was her own rashness that got her into this. It was her fault!

Yuffie fell to her knees in front of Olette. Hugging her, Olette finally comprehended the full truth behind her actions. She had killed the other two Keybladers. It was by her hands that she killed Kairi and Naminé, in cold blood and with brutal means. Naminé's expression burned deep inside her mind.

"Don't worry…it's not your fault. It was the wizard's doing…" Yuffie's voice was broken. Olette could feel her body shaking.

And then she felt a sharp pain in her back. She couldn't breathe. Her body went numb. Yuffie let her go, and Olette dropped to the ground. She could feel blood running over her back.

"Thank you for letting me kill you!" Yuffie laughed and laughed. "I don't need you anymore, Olette! I can have anything now! I can revive the dead, get the love of whomever I want, and live forever! I have the genie now!" Yuffie shouted in a crazy voice.

Olette's vision blurred. Was this the end? Yuffie, laughing at her foolishness. Yuffie, standing there, laughing with the corpses of the three Keybladers before her. Olette turned with the last of her power, wanting to see the faces of her friends one more time.

And as she turned, she saw the unfathomable truth. They had been decoys. Puppets. The illusion dispelled—they were just zombie soldiers. Olette had run straight into a trap. It was all Jafar's doing. Manipulating Yuffie…luring Olette here…making her think that she killed her best friends…and finally…killing _her_.

Olette could no longer feel anything. Her vision left her, and her consciousness faded away slowly.

If only she hadn't been so rash…

- End of Chapter XX-IV -


	25. Terror and Power – Fallen Temptation

A/N: A happy new year!

If you happen to read my other story "Hear my Song!" then by all means, please participate in the poll in my profile. Thank you for your time.

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX-V

_Terror and Power – Fallen Temptation_

"The person I like is being stolen away from me by that red-haired Keyblader." Yuffie was telling Jafar all about herself. The genie had politely asked, and she saw no reason to refuse. "They always hang out together on the pretense of having to work on their teamwork, seeing how they're both Keybladers."

Jafar smirked. He loomed in front of her, his face full of false sympathy. "They leave you out because you are not one of them. The red-haired one is just after her because she's a Keyblader too."

Yuffie felt as if his words were arrows that pierced her back. Her anger clouded her mind. His words seemed right.

"They probably think you're worth less than they are…that they're so much more important because they're a _little_ special." Jafar filled her head with angry thoughts.

And Yuffie fell for it. She longed for Olette so much that she couldn't think straight. Damn that Kairi! Why did Olette have to be a Keyblader anyway? Should Yuffie just wish her free from that burden? But if Yuffie did that, Olette would surely hate her.

How about the opposite?

"Can you make _me_ a Keyblader?"

It wasn't that bad an idea. Nobody could blame her. More Keybladers were always good, and if Olette saw that Yuffie too was one…

Jafar saw another chance to get free from his cursed lamp. "I do not know. I have never tried before. It might be against the rules. It is worth a try, however, when you find the lamp. And if it doesn't work, you could wish me free, and I could try again."

Yuffie still didn't trust that wishing free thing completely. "I'll think about it."

They had reached one of the west towers—one of the few places they hadn't searched yet. But so far they hadn't found anything.

Jafar was getting impatient, but he kept his poker face. "If only I knew where he put my lamp! I am sure it is in the palace. I can tell at least that much." It was so tiring, keeping up the charade of the good genie.

"What about that place?" Yuffie pointed out a window, toward a tower that Jafar had not noticed before. It was connected to the palace, all right, but Jafar knew the corridors around there. There was no connection to a tower. Mozenrath must have secretly sealed it off.

"Give me back the wings. They were rather handy." Yuffie had kind of enjoyed being able to fly freely through the air. The wings felt a little odd, but they sure would be handy for battle and espionage purposes. "Let me keep them. I like them."

Yuffie watched as the genie pointed at her back. She felt the familiar pain of black wings growing from her back.

She turned and jumped out the window, first gliding on the strong wind, then using her wings to reach the tower. She could see that there was a fight going on down in the palace. Who was fighting whom was irrelevant—for now. Olette would not be beaten by anything. And Yuffie had to find that lamp.

- Valiant Hearts -

Kairi had met up with Naminé and they had just blasted a whole corridor of undead guards to smithereens. There was no sign of Jafar, and Mozenrath had vanished too. Olette was gone as well. Where exactly _was_ everyone?

"I'm worried about Olette," Naminé said, and wished she were capable of sensing spells like Rydia was. It would be a great help locating others in this maze of a palace.

"She's strong, she can look after herself," Kairi replied.

She was deep in thought, trying to get a look at the general situation. Their goal was to get rid of Jafar and Mozenrath and to restore order to this world. It was not, Kairi knew, a good idea to kill the wizard _before_ they got rid of the genie.

Mozenrath, after all, was the only one who knew how to operate the trapping crystal. But that crystal would be useless if they couldn't manage to get Jafar's attention. The genie was much too smart to fall for a simple trap. They could try to start up senseless destruction and lure him out in fear of his lamp getting destroyed, but that could very well backfire.

There weren't many other options. Since the genie hadn't yet shown himself, he most likely was on to them. Their best bet was to find the lamp themselves and destroy it. But how? This palace was gigantic!

Kairi knew they couldn't split up. It was too dangerous—Jafar was smart enough to create a doppelganger or worse to fool them and possibly kill them if they let their guard down. Mozenrath was quite smart too, from what Kairi knew of him. He, without hesitation, had asked the enemy of his enemy for a truce. A less intelligent or just pride-obsessed enemy would have tried to kill them, not ally with them.

Kairi couldn't put it into words, but there was…something _odd_ about this whole mess. Something she couldn't account for.

Why would both genie and wizard want to get rid of each other? Kairi had an idea as to why Jafar would want to destroy Mozenrath, but it made little sense that Mozenrath would want to destroy Jafar. Mozenrath was the master of the red genie, so why exactly…

Naminé turned around and blasted a nearing patrol of undead guards with a fire spell. Kairi watched, startled and amazed at how merciless Naminé had gotten against enemies. It seemed like the experience of battle was working wonders on her.

"Let's move. It's too troublesome to stay here." They would look for the lamp for the time being. It was their best bet.

But where to start? There were several towers, lower levels, and countless rooms in the palace. Often, the least suspicious places were the ones right under one's nose.

Kairi and Naminé made their way to the throne room. Any guards on the way were dispatched by Kairi, as Naminé was under her orders to preserve her magic power. The guards were no threat at all. They were nothing compared to the masses of Heartless outside.

They had just left the castle and passed through a part of the palace garden when Kairi stopped and turned around. Right above them, looming over the palace doorway, was a tower—part of the structure. But there was no way to access that part of the complex. There was no door, and no stairs.

Tracking back, Kairi examined the walls carefully until she hit gold. Part of the wall seemed much newer than the rest of it. She sighed. Olette would have been useful for this, as Kairi lacked the brute strength to smash a wall.

"Naminé, blast this part of the wall," she ordered.

While Naminé bashed in the wall, Kairi again wondered where Olette had gone. Jafar was undoubtedly pulling some strings behind the scenes, but Kairi was absolutely sure that Olette was still alive. Olette was too strong to get captured or killed easily.

Behind the wall was a staircase that spiraling up into the tower. "Be careful," Kairi warned her fellow Keyblader, and took the first step.

There were no traps. The stairs ascended until almost at the top of the tower, where they found a secret laboratory. Whether it belonged to Jafar or Mozenrath, Kairi couldn't say.

They looked around. The room wasn't that big, even without all the objects in it. There were three shelves on the south wall, and there were also five tables, each in one corner of the room. On the floor were white and black lines, drawn to meet the five tables and form a large hexagram.

"Naminé, check the books to see if you find anything useful." Kairi herself went to look through the various objects on each of the five tables.

Naminé wasn't exactly skilled in reading books in the local tongue. She couldn't understand most of the books at all. There were a few that were written in runes that she recognized from somewhere, but the most she could read were a few lines.

She stumbled onto a picture of a giant crystal and something that looked like instructions. Naminé memorized whatever she was able to read and put the book back. More than fifteen minutes passed before she gave up. Most of these books were in a language she had never seen before.

"Kairi, there is nothing about Olette here." Naminé was still worried about her friend. She wanted to move on and look for her. Staying here was a waste of time.

"I agree. Take the stairs, I'll follow you in a minute," Kairi said, and waited until Naminé left to wait in the stairwell. The blond girl had long grown accustomed to following Kairi's orders on a mission. Kairi was their tactician, after all.

Kairi turned around and looked at the bookshelves. This room clearly did not belong in the palace. She targeted the shelves and fired several fireballs at them. It would be a matter of minutes before the room turned into an ocean of flames.

She met up with Naminé on the stairs. "We're leaving," Kairi said curtly.

They both hurried down the stairs, feeling the heat of the flames at their backs. Kairi ordered Naminé to destroy the entrance and the girl did, quickly chanting a lightning spell.

"Given that there are already secret rooms like this in the palace…I think it's useless to search for the lamp in obvious places." Kairi tried to think, but her mind was still full of thoughts about Olette. She could lie to Naminé, saying she wasn't worried, but she was very much worried. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

But other things demanded her immediate attention right now. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted Jafar flying above them. He must have been more than fifty meters above them. That alone was enough to cause her to jump behind a corner, pulling Naminé with her.

But there was something else. Another shadow. Someone was with him.

"I was right," Kairi whispered to Naminé. "There _is_ someone else here beside us, someone who's cooperating with Jafar. They just landed on top of the room we were just in. But whatever they wanted has probably burned to ashes by now."

Kairi decided that it would be wise to not be around when Jafar got angry. The only way to beat a genie was to outsmart him, to beat him in a game of the mind. It was completely impossible to even _scratch_ a genie with conventional means…or extraordinary means.

"We'd better get out of here."

Not waiting for any stairs to mystically appear, Naminé nodded and blasted a hole in the ground. Lightning was, when concentrated at one point, a very useful tool.

Kairi leaned over and rammed her Keyblade into the inside wall of the hole, then grabbed Naminé and dropped downwards so that that they were dangling over the darkness. The hole was a lot deeper than Kairi had expected; she had to hold tightly to the Keyblade to stop them from falling.

Naminé, held tightly around her waist by Kairi's left arm, was focused on her job. Using recitation ice magic, the girl created small platforms that they then used to get down safely. The platforms would vanish in time, leaving no trace that the girls had passed this way.

The hole led them down to the catacombs that ran under the palace. Kairi stopped a moment to figure out their position and to think about what she had just seen, while Naminé sat down and closed her eyes to rest briefly.

Kairi had just remembered another problem. Mozenrath had said that as soon as Jafar was outside, the crystal would capture him. But that hadn't happened.

Why hadn't it? Had the wizard lied about the crystal? In any case, the genie was apparently free to go wherever he wanted. And the more pressing matter was…who was the outsider?

Kairi had only seen a glimpse of him or her for the matter of maybe a second. The only thing she could make out was that he was rather small and had large wings. He had looked somewhat like a human, but it was hard to tell.

"Naminé, let's find Olette first. If there's someone else we have to fight, we're going to need her."

Naminé stood and brushed herself off, ready to go, but Kairi's mind was still buzzing. Who or what was helping Jafar? The Organization? Who?

Kairi led them west, making sure to be quiet to avoid the eyes and ears of both Jafar and Mozenrath. Kairi was confident that they could beat the wizard without Olette, but it would be difficult. Kairi had an idea of a way to do it, but it was a pretty far-fetched idea and she didn't know whether it would work or not. It also relied on Olette's Hero's Crest.

She closed her eyes and tried to find Hero's Crest—her old Keyblade she had given to Olette. It was possible for a Keyblader to locate a Keyblade like this if he or she had used it for a very long time. For that, however, the responsible key chain had to be in use right at that exact moment.

But Kairi found nothing. She could only feel Monochrome, right next to her. Whether it was her ability that had deteriorated or that Hero's Crest wasn't being used, she couldn't tell. There were too many mysteries here. Cursed genie and wizards and their secrecy.

Suddenly, help came from an unexpected side. The flying cat—the one who had informed them about Mozenrath before—suddenly appeared at the end of the dark hall.

Kairi didn't know what to make of it. How in the world had it just appeared out of thin air? At least it didn't seem dangerous. For now, she took a cautious stance against it and held her Keyblade firmly. It probably didn't make much sense to point a Keyblade at such a magical being, but Kairi didn't care.

"Things have become a little…_too_ predictable. Here is a hint—the lamp was never gone." The cat laughed and circled around Naminé a few times, who, unexpectedly, thought the cat was kind of cute.

Kairi figured it out right away. _Mozenrath had the lamp_. It had been an act all along, and she had fallen for it. But even so…they could not just attack him and destroy the lamp. If Mozenrath could control Jafar with the lamp, it would be a very risky battle. Too risky for Kairi.

It still didn't solve the problem of destroying Jafar and who that mysterious outsider was. It was time to find Olette. Kairi felt that would answer some of her questions.

She looked up to ask the cat, but it had vanished. The only person in the hall was Naminé, looking expectantly at Kairi.

"We'll find Olette. Let's go."

There was no other way than trial and error and systematic search to find Olette.

This would take a while.

- Valiant Hearts -

"My lamp is not here."

Jafar had quickly extinguished the flames and checked the room. This had been one of Mozenrath's private rooms. What it had been used for, he couldn't tell without restoring the room to its original shape. But he didn't care that much. He knew about Mozenrath's ploy and the extent of his abilities. There was no need to waste time looking through this room when the lamp wasn't here.

"Who started the fire?" Yuffie stood in the middle of the room. Whoever did this had left behind no trace of his coming and going.

"It must have been the wizard himself. He wanted to hide whatever he was doing here from us." Jafar knew that a Keyblader was responsible for the fire, but it was better to direct the anger of the girl towards Mozenrath for now.

"Why haven't I seen the Keybladers yet?" Yuffie was a little suspicious of Jafar now. Some things weren't making sense. "I want to see Olette. She's the Keyblader with two swords."

"I can feel all three of them in the palace. They are constantly moving, hiding. Even I do not know every secret passage in the palace. They are tricky. They do not want to be found by you."

Jafar's lies sounded no more strange than before and Yuffie believed them. Kairi was smart enough to lead the others around without Yuffie _ever_ finding them.

"Can you bring them here?" Yuffie was sure he could. Such a small thing must be within the abilities of a genie who claimed to be so powerful.

"I tried, but it didn't work. I don't know why. I should be able to teleport most anything in this world." Jafar was lying, of course, but the girl didn't have to know that.

Yuffie saw something Jafar did not think of—the flaw in the genie's power. It was limited to this world. She and the Keybladers were from a different world, following different laws. Interesting.

"Well then, we've searched a big part of the palace. Where could the lamp be?" Yuffie was impatient. She wanted to be with Olette.

Jafar thought long and hard. If the lamp was this well hidden, there must be a trick involved. Ah, of course! Mozenrath was a liar and one tricky bastard. He must have been playing an act all along.

"The wizard must have lied to me. He must have the lamp and somehow used his magic to conceal its presence. He truly is evil, to do something like that to me!" Jafar put on a miserable face.

Yuffie thought he was exaggerating, but still believed him. "I'll get rid of the wizard, then. He seems to be an evil guy anyway, so everyone will be better off with him gone. I'm really not supposed to do that, but the Keybladers would take him out anyway, I think. Can you create something for me?"

Yuffie described one of her favorite weapons, a giant shuriken, to Jafar in detail.

Jafar laughed on the inside. Finally, he had found a way to get rid of the wizard and get back his lamp, all in one go. He snapped his fingers, and the same weapon that Yuffie had just described appeared before her.

She grabbed it and swung it a few times to get a feeling for the weight. It was well balanced and easy to use. The wizard wouldn't even see it coming. Yuffie hadn't killed in a long, long time, but this was necessary. She would get the lamp.

And she would get Olette back. Everything would be fine.

- Valiant Hearts -

Olette had been trying to get out of here for too long already.

She sat down on some stairs that looked like the other million sets of stairs in this labyrinth, exhausted. The stairs and doors led nowhere, and marking them was useless. This was not a dream. People didn't get exhausted, hungry or thirsty in dreams. Her legs felt like she was chained and her arms felt heavy. Her mouth was so dry it was hard to talk.

But there was no one to talk to here anyway. There was absolute silence, apart from her own steps echoing through the rooms. It seemed like every doorway she took led back to her starting point. Either that or the just kept coming upon another set of countless doors or hallways that looked exactly like where she'd just been.

She had never been good with these situations—alone in an unknown place, knowing that her friends needed her. But then again…if she was here, had she really died back then? The memory of dying was so vivid, it was hard for Olette to believe it was fake.

This wasn't good. Sitting around only made her think about bad stuff.

She got up again, only to realize that she was now standing on the _ceiling_. A thousand stairs, all leading up and down and right and left, surrounded her. A maze of doors led to hallways that led to doors that led to stairs that led to even more hallways and doors and stairs. Was this—whatever or wherever she actually was—was this was hell? She had imagined a few more pillars of fire, torment of souls, brimstone, that sort of thing.

Olette wandered around slowly, longing for some water. The hallways and stairs held nothing, only stone. And some doors made of wood so hard that it might as well have been stone.

Okay, Olette had had it. If following the maze wasn't going to work, she would just follow a straight line.

With a mighty smash, the first wall crumbled, and Olette stepped past the rubble. Another wall. A door. She continued to walk and crush anything in her way, already losing sight of her starting point. It wasn't until the dust of the crumbling wall got into her mouth and she again noticed how thirsty she was that she stopped. Everything looked the same. This could go on forever. Disappointed and depressed, Olette gave up and sat down.

If she was going to sit here, she'd have to keep her mind busy. She started thinking about the others. What were they doing? Did they know what had happened to her?

How would they react? Olette couldn't imagine it, and her thoughts swayed to something else—the happy times she shared with all of them, the first few days after leaving Twilight Town behind, the weeks of harsh training, their first mission. She remembered it all so clearly. It was as if she could see the images right before her eyes.

When it got to the happy days she spent with Yuffie, tears filled her eyes. If only she had been able to forget Kairi, none of this would have happened. But it didn't work out in the end. It had been wrong of her to slowly grow more attached to Kairi until it ruined her relationship with Yuffie. It was her fault that the girl had turned against her. That she was being manipulated by Jafar. Knowing Yuffie, she wasn't willing to let go. The girl was surprisingly devoted.

It was Olette's indecisiveness that had screwed everything up. She wished she could talk to Yuffie one last time. To tell her not to hunt after her. To tell her honestly that she couldn't and didn't want to let go of Kairi.

"_You can, if you truly want to._"

That was Yuffie's voice. A half-transparent version of her was sitting next to Olette, a version that was smiling and seemingly happy.

"_She will be sad. She will be hurt. But life is painful. Because it is painful is the reason we seek out others, is it not?_"

Olette nodded and felt tears run down her face. The image vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

She must be going mad, to be seeing hallucinations. The guilt was making her feel terrible. It had been terribly wrong to let everything escalate like this. She should have told Yuffie earlier. That she wasn't able to let go of Kairi. That she would chase her until she finally found a way to be with her.

But it was all too late. It didn't even matter if she was dead or not. She would never get out of this place.

Closing her eyes, Olette let her head rest on her knees. Maybe she would sleep a little.

It wasn't five minutes before everything around her became completely dark. There were no more stairs, or doors or hallways. No feeling of thirst, pain or guilt. Just the darkness that swept everything away.

- Valiant Hearts -

Kairi and Naminé had gotten lucky. Not only had they learned where the lamp was, but they also found Jafar's laboratory. But that was all unimportant compared to the third thing they found.

"She's coming to!" Kairi was sitting on the ground, resting Olette's head on her lap. "Thank God…"

Over twenty minutes had passed since they had found the room behind a massive wooden door. Olette had been nearly dead when they'd found her, and not because of wounds or poison. Her mind was giving in. The girl had been imprisoned in a magic crystal.

They had discovered that Olette was in there by pure chance. Naminé had detected some active magic nearby and had picked the crystal up. Inside, she saw a miniature Olette, trapped inside a small room with stairs and doors.

Naminé saw no way to operate the crystal. There was no switch, and there was no way of guessing a keyword. The only thing they could do was smash the crystal, but it proved to be surprisingly robust. Kairi had to repeatedly pound the crystal with her Keyblade to cause as much as a crack. Naminé couldn't just blow up the crystal and risk blowing up Olette with it, so Kairi kept pounding it.

Finally, the artifact gave in, cracked open, and filled the entire room with a disgusting-smelling smoke. On the floor, right next to the crystal, was an unconscious Olette.

Kairi was relieved. She had avoided crying, but she had been very, very worried. So much so that she hugged the still dim and dizzy girl. Naminé, too, was happy to have Olette back. She was near tears.

Olette had no visible injuries or signs of abuse, but her mind seemed to recover very slowly.

"I'm…not dead?"

Those were the first words Olette was able to say. Slowly, things came back into focus—the coldness of the ground, the air, the warm body that held her. The smell of Kairi, but also of blood, fire and death.

Naminé had come over, and now it was her turn to hug Olette. "You were imprisoned…you're safe now." Olette smiled and patted her head, almost in a trance.

It took another fifteen minutes until Olette could really talk. The whole time, she leaned against the wall, patting Naminé's head.

"Yuffie is here." Olette started to tell the other two what she had seen. "She's with Jafar. I don't know how, but he's manipulating her," Olette said, and then explained what happened afterward. Jafar was truly a master in manipulating the mind.

"I saw someone with Jafar," Kairi said. "But if that was Yuffie, she grew some _wings_. Still, it's definitely within the realm of possibility."

Kairi was more worried that Yuffie was helping out the enemy. What was she thinking? There was a definite limit to what Kairi tolerated, and this was way over the line.

"Before we go…" Olette got up and walked over to Kairi, who was standing against the far wall, deep in thought. Her heart was beating so fast that Olette felt like she was about to pass out. Taking a deep breath, she took the few steps forward. It was either now or she would never have the courage again for this.

Olette grabbed Kairi's shoulders and kissed her. And not just any ordinary kiss. Kairi could feel how serious and passionate Olette was about this. It made her blush. Not to mention the fact that Naminé was watching with big eyes.

When Olette finally pulled back, Kairi was panting and out of breath, eyes large and surprised.

"I like you, Kairi. No, I lo…l…oh dammit, I love you, Kairi! I've always loved you!" Olette yelled.

Silence filled the room afterward.

Kairi didn't know what to say. She remembered Olette confessing to her before, but this…this was different. She could tell that Olette was serious. Dead serious. What should she do? Her heart was beating fast, she was sweating, and she knew she didn't want to say no.

Naminé was watching them with great interest. When she couldn't hold back anymore, she got up and laid her arms around Olette.

"I don't mind, you know that," Naminé said, and leaned against Olette's back.

Kairi and Olette both had the same train of thought. "_I'd like to be that carefree…_"

"You don't have to say anything. I…need to talk to Yuffie anyway," Olette said. Now that it was out again, she was anxious for the reply. Naminé didn't mind, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

Olette took the topic back to the mission. "Yuffie is after the lamp. I have no idea what she is going to do with it, but I don't think she intends to destroy it."

Kairi was still a bit dizzy from the amazing kiss, but this woke her up.

"I'm pretty sure the wizard has the lamp. He played us all for fools." Kairi was a little angry that such an obvious thing had slipped right under her nose.

"Let's take him down and destroy the lamp before Yuffie gets there. I'm worried about her…she was…weird," Olette said, and summoned her Keyblades.

Kairi nodded, and so did Naminé. They knew where the throne room was and got there in a couple of minutes—but they were too late. Mozenrath was lying in a puddle of his own blood.

Kairi, Olette, and Naminé cautiously looked into the room and finally entered. They noticed her only when they had entered the room.

Yuffie. She was standing in the shadow of a pillar on the side, a few meters away from Mozenrath's body.

"I already took care of him." Yuffie held up the lamp and showed it to everyone. "I got the lamp," she said proudly, as if expecting them to praise her, to acknowledge her feat of taking out the wizard. But nothing like that was said.

"You've got to destroy the lamp, Yuffie!" Kairi said. She took a few steps toward Yuffie, who cautiously moved away from Kairi.

"You stay away!" Yuffie wasn't particularly happy to see Kairi or Olette right now. Not after what she had just seen.

She had used her first wish to see Olette. But Jafar had showed her Kairi instead, kissing the girl she wanted to get back so badly.

"She's right, Yuffie. The genie is evil. He already tried to take over this world once before," Olette said. She walked forward to stand next to Kairi.

"You two are nothing but liars. How long have you been doing this? Making out in secret, I mean." Yuffie shook her head angrily. "You're cruel, Olette, you know that? I loved you. I still do. But I don't want to be with you if that is your answer." Yuffie put the lamp into her pocket. "I won't listen to _you_."

Olette felt a wave of guilt crash over her. Yuffie…knew? All of it? That explained her behavior, but how…?

"I'm really sorry, Yuffie. I…just couldn't let go." Olette tried to justify her actions but found even trying to do so quite futile.

"Oh, _really?_ Who would have guessed! That much is obvious to me now. Why else would you _kiss_ her?" Yuffie shouted bitterly.

"We don't have time for this," Kairi said, and took a few steps forward, approaching Yuffie. "Give me the lamp. We can sort out our personal business later."

Kairi was worried about Jafar stopping them now that they were so close. Come to think of it, where was he?

"I said _stay away!_" Yuffie threw a handful of small shuriken at Kairi's feet. "I don't want _you_ anywhere near me!"

But Kairi was determined to not let this chance pass and started running at Yuffie, who turned to run. Naminé, despite feeling bad about it, started to assist Kairi and tried to catch Yuffie. Olette stood, baffled, as she watched her three best friends fight each other. And she was powerless to stop them.

Yuffie used her wings and flew out of reach into the air. She pulled out the lamp. "Genie, my second wish! Tie those two up and keep them _quiet!_"

The red genie popped out from the lamp and snapped his fingers. Heavy iron chains instantly appeared around Kairi and Naminé, rendering them unable to even stand. Both fell to the ground, gagged with cloth by the genie.

Olette finally got a hold of herself when she saw Yuffie use the genie's power again. "Stop this madness, Yuffie!" she called. "They are right, the genie is evil! Can't you see he's using you?"

"Why should I believe you? You've been lying to me ever since we got together! Maybe even longer. Was there anything real in what we had? Or was it all just you toying with me until you could go back to Kairi?" Yuffie was growing angrier with every second. She landed on the floor again, eyes blazing. How stupid did Olette think she was?

Olette tried to reason with her. "Just give me the lamp, Yuffie. He really is dangerous, whatever you believe. He tried to rule this world by force and now he's trying again. Who do you think summoned all those Heartless outside?"

"I don't believe you. I _can't_ believe you! Whatever you say, it sounds like a lie to me!" Yuffie moved away and Olette followed suit.

"_Give me the lamp!_" Olette shouted. She needed that lamp, and even if she felt sorry for Yuffie, there was no way she could let her personal feelings endanger them anymore than she already had.

"No!" Yuffie put the lamp in her pocket.

Olette had had enough. She tackled Yuffie, holding her arms and trying to reach for the lamp in her pocket. "Just give it to me!"

Olette's patience was running thin, but so was Yuffie's. The ninja tensed up and blocked Olette's hands from her pocket. Olette grabbed Yuffie's wrist and kept her grip tight so that the girl couldn't move away again.

"Look, stop being stubborn and give me the lamp. We can talk about this after that. Or if you really want, we can talk about it now, and _then_ you give me the lamp." Olette didn't like the idea of resorting to violence, so she tried to appeal to Yuffie's intelligence first.

Yuffie wiggled out of Olette's grasp and slapped Olette's cheek as hard as she could. "What is there to talk about?" she yelled. "I know what I wanted to know. There is nothing else. It doesn't really matter why you did it, that doesn't change anything after all!"

Yuffie hit Olette's hand with her own and Olette eventually let her go. Yuffie jumped back in the air and stayed there, wary of what Olette would do.

"I don't want to come and take the lamp from you by force, Yuffie. Don't make me do it!" Olette's patience was just about finished. In this state, she could only hope to get the lamp as quickly as possible without hurting Yuffie.

Yuffie hurled her weapon at Olette as her answer in order to put some more distance between them. Olette defended herself with her Keyblade, shooting Yuffie an angry look.

"So it really has come down to this. The genie was right. In the end, you only care about _her_," Yuffie said, voice cold as ice. "I'll show you how much it hurt to learn how much you lied to me!"

Yuffie threw her weapon at Olette again, who deflected the spinning weapon by hitting it with her own.

Olette gritted her teeth and sighed. She didn't want to hurt Yuffie. Not anymore. But if she couldn't get the lamp away from Yuffie, things could go wrong. Very wrong. She couldn't let a whole world fall prey to Jafar just because Olette didn't want to use brute force to get the lamp.

Yuffie had a clear advantage in this fight, being able to fly. But she had to rely on those wings. Olette, on the other hand, was monstrously strong. A point-blank hit from Olette was guaranteed to knock Yuffie right out.

Yuffie flew around Olette with amazing speed, catching the deflected shuriken and throwing it again. Olette blocked the throwing weapon again by crossing both her own swords in front of herself.

"Snap out of it, idiot!" Olette yelled, and moved to turn the tables. Simply overpowering Yuffie, Olette jumped at her and attacked with a series of slashes that Yuffie only evaded by ascending higher into the air.

"_Lightning!_" Yuffie yelled and a green Materia in her arm glowed. Olette faced the spell head on and hit the lightning bolt with her Keyblades, destroying it. Yuffie really was serious!

The ninja's arms started glowing green and an inferno of fire, ice, and lightning started to flood into the room, forcing Olette to go into evasive maneuvers.

That was it for Olette. If Yuffie wanted an all-out fight, she would get one.

Olette hadn't gone through all that training with Tifa for nothing. She ran towards a pillar, jumped, turned in mid-air once, and threw a Keyblade at Yuffie, forcing her to pause her relentless magic assault. The next second, Olette had turned again and hit a massive stone pillar with full force.

It shattered and large pieces of stone fell to the ground. If Yuffie wanted to fly around like some crazy bat, Olette had no choice. Olette started throwing massive pieces of stone after the black-haired girl, who had her hands full evading all the missiles.

Yuffie knew that she couldn't outrun Olette forever and kept her main weapon in her hand. She would need it if Olette came at her at point-blank range…which happened seconds after she had finished dodging Olette's attacks. Olette hit the weapon with such force that the impact threw Yuffie against one of the pillars.

"Do you really think this is what I hoped for? I liked you so much, but I can't command my heart!" Olette shouted.

"I don't believe you! You went off with her, and I catch you secretly snuggling and kissing, and you tell _me_ you loved _me_? You liar!" Yuffie shouted and got even angrier. Nothing but lies out of her mouth! This was all Kairi's fault.

Yuffie charged at Olette and threw a smoke bomb right at her face. Olette was quick enough to defend herself but lost all visibility. Next thing she knew, Yuffie had kicked her right in the face, only to vanish again. Her next attack could come from anywhere. Time to really get serious on this!

"_Raid of the Lion!_" Olette activated one of her special abilities. Naminé had helped her develop this. Olette could store magical energy from Naminé in her clothes and release it to greatly boost her next move.

Olette jumped high up with such tremendous speed that the smoke cloud was partially pulled with her. She quickly spotted Yuffie hovering to her left.

"_Roar of the Lion!_" Olette spun around a few times, pulling the dust cloud around herself. Yuffie was caught by surprise.

One after another, Yuffie dodged the Keyblades that flew at her and whipped past her again as they were recalled. Olette was using the enormous force of her rotation to throw the blades at at a brutal speed.

"I shouldn't underestimate her," Yuffie muttered to herself. But she couldn't dodge the next Keyblade and instead tried to block it. The force of impact was so great that she crashed into a nearby wall.

"Dammit, she's so strong…!" Yuffie couldn't believe her eyes. Everything seemed to happening now in slow motion. Olette was right in front of her, aiming for her chest with a punch. Yuffie kicked Olette but it had no effect. It only allowed Yuffie to move herself out of harm's way.

It was like one of Cid's bombs had gone off when Olette hit the wall. She was Tifa's student for a good reason. If Yuffie got hit by that…!

The wall came crumbling down and Olette faced Yuffie with a serious face. One girl stood, armed with two weapons, the other floated in mid-air, holding little vials in her hands.

Yuffie was well prepared whenever she went out on a mission, even now. But she was not made for a big fight against someone who was even faster than she was. In seconds Yuffie drank two of the blue vials, which surrounded her with a purple glow. This was a one-shot ticket—and she would feel the after effects later.

"_Tetra Chaos!_" Yuffie crossed her arms and six green Materia started glowing.

Olette didn't react in time. Fireballs, ice crystals, lightning bolts, everything came at her at once. Yuffie didn't have that much magical power on her own, so she must've drunk something. Tricky!

Olette got hit by an ice crystal which launched her into mid-air, where a fireball and lightning bolt hit her. The fire scorched her hair and face, the bolt made her feel numb. She landed _hard_.

Two could play at Yuffie's game. Olette got up and made her way towards Kairi and Naminé, who were still chained up and gagged. There was no lock on their chains, and they were outside the battle zone for now. But she wanted something from them.

Olette only glanced at them as she reached for something each of them kept on their waists. Key chains. Yuffie hesitated to attack Olette while the other two were in the way, and that was Olette's luck. From the corner of her eye, she spotted something outside, but ignored it. That would help her greatly.

"_Union of the Lion!_" Olette knew this was risky, and Naminé had warned her about doing it, but nonetheless…Olette threw both her Keyblades at Yuffie, who evaded the first two. The second wave, different Keyblades, slashed her on the left leg. Olette was breathing hard under the strain of keeping four Keyblades materialized.

Yuffie was cursing. "You monster…" she hissed. At least she had avoided a direct hit or a hit on her wings.

"_Tetra Chaos!_" Yuffie continued where she had left off. Olette started running, dodging the continuous multi-elemental attack and circling around Yuffie.

Yuffie ran out of magic power after the sixth salve and quickly reached for the next couple vials in her pocket. That was Olette's chance.

Jumping at Yuffie, bare-handed, Olette grabbed her arms and placed her feet right at her hip. "Time to sleep!"

Olette's head crashed against Yuffie's and the black-haired girl saw stars and colored balls. She barely managed to hang on to consciousness.

Olette jumped away, waiting cautiously to see whether Yuffie had had enough or still wanted to go at it.

"Monster!" Yuffie shouted, rubbing her forehead. A small line of blood was trickling from it. Olette's forehead was bleeding as well.

"Have you calmed down? Now give me the lamp, Yuffie, and we can discuss this peacefully!" Olette lowered her weapons, only holding two of them.

"Drop the act. What's there to discuss? You're going to stay with Kairi and leave me behind. That's the story, isn't it?" Yuffie got up and staggered for a second before going back airborne. "I _won't_ hand over the lamp!"

Olette knew that Yuffie was out of control. The best thing would probably be to knock her out. Olette got into a fighting stance. She hadn't spent all that time with Kairi talking about fighting for nothing—Olette had a plan.

Yuffie pulled up another vial—this one with a bright purple liquid—and emptied it in one gulp. The next thing Olette knew, Yuffie had vanished from her view. An invisibility tincture? Impossible! But then…

Instinctively, Olette whipped around and smashed her blade with full strength against whatever was behind her. It was just in time; Yuffie had approached her from behind with ridiculous speed. Her surprise attack was thwarted, but she vanished from Olette's view again.

This was very, very dangerous. Yuffie had her own version of a haste spell to become so quick that she could almost become invisible. But having that speed meant nothing if she couldn't move freely. Olette looked up and chose a point that was as good as any other, and threw her Keyblades.

"_Raid of the Lion!_" Olette instantly vanished and reappeared right below the ceiling, the blades right above her.

Clenching her fist as hard as she could—this one was going to hurt—she smashed the ceiling. The impact was enough to destabilize the entire roof, which started to crash down. And there she was. Yuffie re-appeared for split seconds when dodging the rocks that came down. Olette was right. That kind of speed came at the expense of maneuverability.

Choosing the right moment when Yuffie was forced to stop for a split second, Olette took her chance. She appeared right behind Yuffie, who was surrounded by falling fragments from the ceiling, and she whispered something in her ear.

"_I'm sorry._"

Olette punched her with all her strength in the stomach. Yuffie instantly threw up and spat blood, but she was still conscious, so Olette put her hands together and hit Yuffie's back with a single hammer blow, sending her crashing into the ground.

Olette landed and quickly checked on the ninja. She was alive, and _still conscious_.

"You're way too tough. Enough of this already. I win." Olette knelt next to the immobile girl and searched her for the lamp.

"You should…know better…than that." Yuffie coughed up more blood before spitting it in Olette's face and crushing a little ball in her own pocket.

Olette was immediately engulfed by smoke. Olette reached for Yuffie's arms and legs, trying to keep the girl in one place, but she had already moved.

"I'll go through with this."

Olette's head snapped up when she heard Yuffie speak. Her voice was weak—she sounded like she was in no condition to fight.

"Genie! My third wish. You've served me well, but some things just aren't supposed to be, I guess. I wish…you free."

Jafar's monstrous laughter filled the entire palace. Olette dropped her head in shock. There was no hope of saving this world now. According to Kairi, once freed, a genie had no effective weaknesses.

"Time to get rid of a few uninvited guests!" Jafar laughed, and Olette heard the sound of him snapping his fingers through the dissipating smoke that still surrounded her.

Suddenly, Olette felt an incredible force pressing in on her, _moving_ her. When she could see again, she was in a gigantic cavern full of gleaming piles of treasure. Kairi, Naminé, Yuffie, and Mozenrath's corpse were there too.

"Where in the world are we?" Olette moved quickly over to Kairi and Naminé to unchain them. They had seen everything, and Kairi immediately fell deep in thought. Naminé went to check on Yuffie, who looked as if she had collapsed after making her wish, and started using curative magic on her while Olette sat next to her and waited.

"I know this place." Kairi was anything but happy they had landed here and that they had to deal with a freed genie now, but it was better than being dead. That Yuffie was still alive and hopefully had had enough of her little revenge game was not bad, either.

Kairi hadn't forgotten the imprisoning crystal Mozenrath had talked about. It was just a matter of activating it. It was unlikely that such a thing could be destroyed by magic or by a genie.

Yuffie took much longer than expected to wake up. Three hours passed, and there was no sign of consciousness from her in all that time.

"I gave her a real beating, so she might not wake up anytime soon," Olette said, and sat down next to Kairi. Naminé was happily rummaging through the treasure, even though she knew she couldn't very well take much of it along.

But as it was, Olette and Kairi had some time alone. Both of them were rather busy trying to blame themselves for what had happened with Yuffie.

"It's not really your fault. I kept being indecisive, and this is what happened. When she comes to, I'll tell her…well. That things are as they are." Olette wasn't very comfortable with the idea of telling Yuffie she was breaking up with her, even after everything that happened.

"Listen, I…well. I've never been that good with words. Or feelings," Kairi said, and earned a short laugh from Olette.

"Oh, you don't say! I wouldn't have gotten that idea, _ever__!_" Olette sneered, and got herself a harsh glare from Kairi.

"I'm trying to be serious here. I…do think this isn't…just one-sided." Kairi's face was turning fire-engine red. She really did suck at explaining her feelings to others. "But…well, I don't know if I could handle this…I know Naminé would be happy…but well, Naminé is…"

"Weird. Carefree. Naminé. Actually, Naminé should be some kind of alternative word for carefree." Olette tried with all her might to crack a joke to distract from the seriousness of the conversation.

"So…so…she would be okay with it. You know…well…" Kairi felt a little hot. There was a lava stream somewhere in this grotto but not anywhere near where they were sitting, and it was still _so hot_.

Olette had been playing cat's cradle with her fingers and some silk. She was _so_ nervous that she almost ate the silk once or twice. She dropped the silk and sat on her hands to keep them still somehow.

"What about you? Would you…mind if…" Kairi couldn't really say it. She was a warrior. A tactician. A Chosen One of the Keyblade. But she was terrible with emotional things.

"I don't think so. Naminé…well, if I had never met you, I'd probably like _her_ instead," Olette said, her voice trembling, and she was unable to face Kairi. What kind of place _was_ this to have this conversation? But it kind of couldn't wait. Or rather, it would be awkward no matter where they went.

"You two are way too good of friends…to be okay with sharing the same girlfriend," Kairi said, and took a deep breath. Beating around the bush wasn't going to help. She already knew that, if anything, it would make Naminé _happy_ to share her with Olette.

Naminé had come back and jumped on Olette's back. "I found something amazing!" She presented it proudly to the other two. It was a tiny key chain.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kairi asked and Naminé nodded.

"Watch!" Naminé grabbed the key chain and it transformed into an odd-looking Keyblade. "The name of this Keyblade is Wishes Lamp," Naminé explained. She pulled out a little piece of paper. On it was written:

_To he who walks the stars, a blazing light shall illuminate your way._

"Where did you find it?" Kairi asked, taking the paper and reading.

"In a locked treasure chest. I was curious, so I opened it with Monochrome." Naminé swung around the new Keyblade like a toy and seemed quite happy. "I tried using two, like Olette, but I didn't even manage to make the second one appear." Naminé's skills with the Keyblade itself weren't anywhere as good as Olette's.

"It's a fire-aligned Keyblade. Try using some fire magic and show us the result," Kairi said, putting the paper down.

Naminé targeted a pile of gold coins at the other end of the room, whispered a short recitation, and fired a massive fireball at it. The pile exploded and most of the coins had already melted into liquid gold by the time they hit the ground.

"It amplifies my fire magic much better than Monochrome does." Naminé used ice magic next and found the result to be quite lacking. "But it's really bad with ice magic…"

"Keep it, it'll be useful." Kairi smiled and watched Naminé play around with it. Yuffie still hadn't come to.

"Kairi…I don't mind sharing you with Naminé." Olette moved a bit closer and took her hand. "It'll be weird but…I think I like the idea. It's sort of exciting, too." Olette's face was deep red.

Kairi thought about it. A year ago, she couldn't even imagine being close friends with anyone. Now she had the task of dating two people at once before her. It was almost comical.

"I…can't promise anything. But I'll try to treat you both the same way." Kairi spoke so fast that Olette could barely understand her. Kairi leaned over and gave Olette a short kiss before she got up and walked over to Yuffie, staggering slightly because she felt dizzy.

Olette left her alone for now and went to play with Naminé, trying to give her a few self-defense tips.

More than two hours passed. By now they were a little worried that Yuffie hadn't yet awakened. Olette had tied the girl's hands, as she was concerned about what might happen when she _did_ wake up. Kairi also worried about Agrabah.

"If anybody has enough magic power to use that crystal, it's Naminé." Kairi explained their plan, regardless of what Yuffie would have to say when she woke up.

"Our only option is to trap him in there and then move the crystal somewhere else. Best would be if we could drop him into the Space Between Worlds."

Kairi had absolutely no mercy for Jafar, and though ditching him in the Space Between Worlds broke a Law of the Worlds, Jafar knew about the Heartless and everything, so there wasn't any harm done.

"Leave that to me." Olette was pretty sure she could move anything, given enough time.

Naminé spoke up. "If that crystal is really strong enough to capture a genie, it's bound to have some kind of runic activation coupled with a magic command." Naminé looked at Olette's confused face and explained further. "A command word while I use my magic." She giggled at Olette's ignorance of magic.

"Excuse me for having no magical talent!" Olette was a little annoyed, but then joined Naminé giggling.

"We can't simply challenge him to a fight. He's a genie, it'd be over before it started. So, anyone got a bright idea?" Kairi wasn't sure how exactly they were going to get back into the castle and operate that crystal to capture Jafar.

"He's smart, but arrogant. It should be possible to distract him somehow until Naminé is ready," Olette said.

"I'm going to need some time to find out the…activation command," Naminé added while looking at Olette, which made said brunette roll her eyes.

"How long?" Kairi wanted an rough estimation.

"Impossible to say, Kairi. I don't even know what that thing is made of. I can only do this because Garnet taught me an analytic spell," Naminé explained, only to have both girls look at her with even more confusion.

"Garnet. Lily. Dagger. Whatever you call her. Girl our age with long black hair? Jeez, you two need to get out more." Naminé was completely unaware of the irony of this statement and when the other two started laughing, she sulked a bit.

"Mozenrath is out of the picture. Yuffie killed him. The question is, what do we do with Yuffie? It'll be hard enough to get out of here on foot as it is. I hope she's gotten over her rebellious phase and we can talk some sense into her." Kairi looked over at the unconscious girl.

"There was no magic spell on her or anything. At least not when I healed her." Naminé had become quite skilled in detecting magic.

"Maybe she just needs some stimulation." Olette gritted her teeth. She was still mad at Yuffie for completely losing it. Olette walked over to her former girlfriend and slapped her face a few times. It worked wonders.

Yuffie came to moments later, dizzy and numb. It took her several minutes to recognize the others. She fixated her glare on Kairi. "So I lost. Are you gonna rub it in now? That Olette likes you better than me? That she's dumped me to be with you?"

Before Kairi could say anything, Olette slapped Yuffie across the face again. "Stop being stupid for a second, will you?"

Olette was tired of this. She had to resolve this once and for all. "If you're angry, I can understand that. You already had your chance to cool down, though. And you had a pretty good go at me, so I think you should cut it out. I have no idea how the situation escalated this far, but let me tell you that I genuinely liked you. I really did."

Olette was in a fury and Yuffie was in too much pain and surprise from the face slap to respond.

"But you're getting _way too_ angry!" Olette continued. "I still liked Kairi, I think you should have noticed that somehow. But I didn't _plan_ to cheat on you. I would have talked to you the moment we got back. But you had to lose control and cooperate with the enemy! What were you _thinking__?_"

"I'm angry, all right, and I've got every right to be! Have you any idea how much I suffered these past few days? How afraid I was that you were going to leave me? And you really did leave me! You were with her in secret, and I had no idea whether you ever liked me or not! I couldn't just ask, could I? And don't tell me you wouldn't be hurt if someone did this to _you!_" Yuffie shouted back.

"That's enough," Kairi said sharply. "We're as much at fault as you are, Yuffie. We shouldn't have hidden this from you, but you shouldn't have overreacted like you did. However, the fact is that _you_ freed Jafar. I think punishment is in order."

Kairi wasn't a particularly nice person to deal with if somebody turned traitor and switched sides. Yuffie knew that much. She took after Leon in that regard.

"Olette punished her already, so can't you forgive her?" Naminé stopped any further punishment from happening. "I don't want you two to fight with Yuffie. It's not right." Naminé's words had a literal "wake up" effect. All three stared at the ground.

Olette looked at the bruised and injured Yuffie. Well, Olette did have a pretty good go at her as well. They had had their fight, and maybe she should let bygones by bygones.

Yuffie was a bit confused by the sudden turn of events. Naminé really was a nice girl. _Too_ nice. She now felt really guilty about what she had done, and even more when she thought about seriously she had fought against her former girlfriend.

"Let's just forget this ever happened. I don't think we have to report it to Leon. Right?" Naminé was asking so nicely that the others couldn't say no. Yuffie was a bit surprised that Naminé would defend her like this, even after what she had done.

Naminé proceeded to untie Yuffie, who was unable to face either Kairi or Olette. Even Naminé knew they couldn't be very good friends right away, but it was a start.

Kairi took the first step. It was not in her nature to be very forgiving, but but Naminé had a point. Nothing would come out of punishing Yuffie beyond this point. If anything, they were losing a valuable scout and spy.

"Yuffie. Did Jafar say anything about the crystal? Do you know how to operate it?" Kairi took the first step.

"He fears it. I know that much. The wizard was testing it at some point." Yuffie still hated Kairi for stealing away her girlfriend, but she knew that it wouldn't change things anymore. It would take time to get over Olette, especially since they saw each other so often.

Naminé stepped up and looked at Yuffie with shining eyes. Yuffie was a little weirded out by this sudden over-friendly approach. "What did he say to activate it? Did he do any special movements?"

Yuffie tried to remember. Her memory was kind of fuzzy after taking Olette's blows. She stretched out one arm and opened her hand. "It was something like this. And then…what the hell did he say…" Yuffie was a bit worried about what else she had forgotten. "_Ix_…_Ix Dinar_? No…it was definitely something…_Ix De_-something. There aren't that many letters, just try them all," Yuffie said.

"Okay, you'll be with Olette and me, keeping Jafar busy. Naminé probably needs some time to learn how to activate that crystal properly," Kairi commanded.

Yuffie was still annoyed at Kairi, but she did see her error. A little of it.

"I get it. You need to keep an eye on me, is that it?" Yuffie blurted out.

"No, idiot. We need every bit of help to stop that thing. _That's_ what I need," Kairi snapped and rolled her eyes. "By the way…"

She moved behind Yuffie and pulled on the still-present wings. "Aren't those going to go away?"

Yuffie moved away and tried to rub the part where the wings grew out of her back. "That hurt, dammit! I don't know why they're still there. I'd have thought Jafar would revoke any magic used on me." She did like the ability to fly, though. Inside a cave, however, injured and without wind, she wasn't about to try it.

"Well, I'd assume they'll come in handy," Kairi said, and frowned, thinking of all the mischief Yuffie could cause when she could fly. But cutting these things off would probably be incredibly painful and there was no real justified reason to do such a thing. At least not right now.

"I think they look really cool!" Naminé interrupted. All three of them snorted.

"We're at the bottom of the Cave of Wonders. This is where Aladdin originally found his lamp and genie. It's a real pain to get out of here on foot. There are traps everywhere, not to mention the Heartless." Kairi summoned Oathkeeper and did a quick series of slashes to test if everything was okay. Olette followed her example. Naminé had no need to do so, but she still did it, although a bit clumsily.

"I'll lead the way. Yuffie, I suggest you follow my orders." Kairi took several steps forward and waited for the other three to follow. They had to get out of there quickly and stop Jafar.

- Valiant Hearts -

"Lord Xemnas, the preparations are complete. The troops are ready to depart. Xaldin and Saïx are with the Third Division. Luxord and Xigbar are with the Second Division. The First Division awaits your arrival, Superior." Demyx was reporting the current stand of things.

"Good. Soon, we shall have what we need. Very soon." Xemnas turned around and walked past Demyx. It would cost them a lot of their troops, but this plan was so simple, they could not fail. They would not fail.

Xemnas stood on a high balcony, looking down on his troops. Only a few Heartless were included in the forces. An ocean of silver, with slight purple and black spots in between, was before him. He was satisfied.

They had kept quiet for a while to gather their forces. It would be well worth the losses when they attained what they needed. Soon, very soon, they would no longer have a need for the pesky Keybladers and the people of Hollow Bastion. There would not be much left of them anyway.

"Tell Saïx and Xaldin to get in position. Demyx, I have yet to hear your report about Maleficent." Xemnas had grown weary of dealing with the witch, but she was a valuable asset in this plan, so she couldn't be ignored.

"She is set up with a force of currently over two hundred thousand. They will have nowhere to run, Superior."

Demyx was not too thrilled about this plan. They would suffer great losses. And he was not too sure that it was even going to work. It sounded glorious in theory, but whether Xigbar could really pull it off was questionable. In any case, there was no use refusing an order from the Superior. It would only spell inevitable death.

"How long will the forces take to get there?" Xemnas knew that it was a matter of hours before they could begin.

"About four hours, Superior. The Behemoth Heartless are quite slow." Those things were gigantic. Over ten meters tall and literal beasts, they were the perfect war machines.

Xemnas took notice of the time estimate and stretched out his arms. The forces spread as wide and far as his eyes could see. With a single push of his power, Xemnas opened up a black hole in the ground. It was a massive gateway to darkness, big enough to fit one of the Behemoths in it and still let two or three Nobodies walk next to it.

He stretched out his arms in the air, and the ocean of silver started to growl and scream. They were worshipping their master.

"_Let the war begin!_" he shouted, and the growls grew even louder. Soldiers raised their arms and called out to Xemnas.

The invasion had begun.

- End of Chapter XX-V -


	26. Fire and Death – End of Wishing

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX-VI

_Fire and Death – End of Wishing_

"So how exactly are we going to keep him busy?" Yuffie asked, happy to be out of that terrifying cave. The air of the desert was cold, but very clear in the night.

"I don't know." Kairi plainly admitted that even she wasn't able to think up a plan to go up against a genie just like that. It wasn't easy at all.

Olette didn't expect Kairi to come up with something right away, and neither did Yuffie or Naminé. The enemy was an all-powerful genie, someone who could bend space to his will. Probably.

Yuffie decided to try out her wings in the night sky and flew about for a while. It helped to get a clear mind. The solitude and the clear, cold air helped gather her thoughts. She could see how things had escalated this far. Right now, she didn't want her relationship with the other girls to get any worse than it already was.

The others were sitting together in the cold sand. Naminé had lit a small fire with some wood Olette had found. Yuffie was freezing, but hesitated for a moment before she descended and landed a few meters away from the camp. Naminé waved her to come over to the fire. Yuffie smiled a little and followed the invitation.

"Any new ideas?" Yuffie asked about the situation. They didn't have that much time, but rushing in without a plan would be fatal. They couldn't underestimate Jafar.

"You two could distract him with a fight that wrecks the palace. Better the palace than the world. But it's questionable whether that will work. Olette said she is against it, anyway." Kairi was deep in thought and had decided to only tell Yuffie the necessary facts. It wasn't because she hated Yuffie now; Kairi simply needed every second to think.

Yuffie felt a little flattered that Olette was against such a plan. Maybe Olette didn't hate her after everything Yuffie had done…

So she proposed a rather risky plan of her own. "How about just wrecking the palace and maybe the town? I'm sure we three can do a lot of damage down there to distract Jafar. Or you two could. I can fly Naminé up to the palace."

Kairi had already thought about that, but Jafar would most likely not care about the town, so the whole plan was moot. He cared only about…well, _that_ was a good question. What did Jafar really care about now that he was free? He didn't just want to rule Agrabah.

"Yuffie, did Jafar say anything about what he plans to do after becoming free?" Kairi figured it was worth the shot to ask her.

"He manipulated me into wishing him free, but I don't really know what he's planning. But isn't it impossible to leave a world without the aid of a Keyblader or via a gate of darkness?" Yuffie was pretty well informed about the Organization.

"I would think so, but there is no way to be sure. A genie doesn't really abide by such rules," Kairi replied and Yuffie started drawing circles in the sand below her. They were all quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence.

"We need to get Naminé to the crystal and distract Jafar long enough for her to find the right activation phrase. But how are we going to do that? Yuffie will need to carry Naminé up to the palace in case it's still flying, and I think it will be. That leaves Olette and me. But he'll be suspicious right away if two of us are missing." Kairi was ruling out one possibility after another.

"Why won't stealth work?" Yuffie was curious about it. A genie was powerful, yes, but he still had to rely on his immediate senses to know things. Genies were not all-seeing.

Kairi saw too many problems with that strategy. "Jafar will expect us to come back and try to seal him into his lamp. But as things stand, I don't see any way to distract him successfully long enough. We might have to sneak in. But how are we going to get up to the palace without being seen? Even if you carried one of us each time, we'd be an easy target to spot."

"Not if his attention is focused somewhere else." Olette had thought it through as well. "I saw something like this in a video game once. The heroes set up explosives everywhere and distracted the bad guys and slipped into the castle. Well, it was more about beating the boss than sealing him, really."

Everyone looked at Olette as if she had said something very weird.

"I like games, got a problem with that?" Olette pouted and turned around. It wasn't her fault that the others had never played any First Fantasy or Dragoon Quest games!

Kairi suddenly saw a gleam of hope to beat Jafar after all. "That could actually work. Even if he doesn't care about the town itself, he'll be distracted by the activity. We can use that chance to get into the castle."

"I just happen to know how to make such things." Yuffie grinned and felt a boost to her self-esteem.

"We need Yuffie to get Naminé up to the castle. Olette and I will run around the town and set off the explosives," Kairi said. "Yuffie, approach the palace from behind. We're going to need a lot of explosives to keep him busy chasing after us. Even if he's a genie, there are some things he can't do…"

Kairi wasn't sure what those things actually were, but she was pretty sure genies couldn't kill people. She hoped that they couldn't teleport right next to a person or teleport another person to them. That would ruin their plan. It was very risky, but there were no other alternatives. They had to take this chance.

"One question." Yuffie interrupted Kairi while she was already planning the mission in her mind. "How do we even _get_ to Agrabah? I was quite high a while ago, but I couldn't see anything like a town or flying palace in the distance."

"Last time I traveled here with the flying carpet, but I remember there was a keyhole portal nearby."

Kairi jumped up and looked around. It wasn't long until she quickly found what she was looking for.

She directed Oathkeeper at the ground, and a small portal opened almost on ground level, big enough for a small person to walk through.

"We'll take this way. If my memory serves, it'll take us to right outside the palace. We'll need to go around and place the explosives before Jafar catches wind of us. He only knows that we can travel between worlds via the gateways, but not that we can travel between locations inside the same world too."

Kairi waited for the other three to enter the portal and then followed them. They left behind a small fire that burned out soon after. Not a single soul had noticed they'd been there.

- Valiant Hearts -

"How many are there?" Cid asked.

Leon stood on the town wall, looking into the distance with eagle eyes. The situation was bad beyond anything he had ever encountered. And for this to happen right now, with the Keybladers gone! There wasn't much time.

"Too many to count," Leon answered calmly. He put down the eagle eyes. "Must be tens of thousands. Must be their main army. We're completely surrounded."

A gigantic white ocean was in the distance, slowly wading towards them—a massive army of Nobodies. It was one of three great invasion armies. There was one more to the south and one more to the north. The Heartless were blocking the entire eastern side of the canyon.

"How are our preparations?" Leon walked down the stairs, followed by Cid. They had noticed the armies a few hours ago. The first wave of attack would happen soon, he was sure of it. But the Organization was foolish if its members thought that the Keybladers were the only people capable of fighting.

"The magic squad's centered on the observation deck of Ansem's castle. Best position to attack in every direction." Cid was supposed to be working on his own things, but he doubled as Leon's second-in-command for now.

"Have them fire the second they are ready. We need to reduce their numbers. How's your shield generator coming?"

Cid had managed to access the MCP in Ansem's computer. They had found his hidden laboratory shortly after the Keybladers had left. A good wink of fortune, probably.

"It's ready. It drains a lot of power, so I ain't gonna activate it before they start attackin'." Cid was looked tired. He was working as fast as he could while still doing his best to help out Leon.

"I'm going to join the assault team, Cid. It's your call from now on."

Leon headed towards one of the gates where a combat assault team was waiting for him. It was one of four teams, and each team led by a different person. He was in charge of the first team, while Tifa was in charge of the second. Cloud, who had turned up shortly before the Nobodies appeared, had been forced to lead team three. The last team was led by Ashe and Basch, friends of Leon.

Cid headed to a plaza just outside their headquarters where a few workers had set up an information relay station. Cid issued his order for the sorceress team to attack, then headed to the laboratory, where the access panel for the MCP was.

Aerith was leading the sorceress team. Beside her were a few other prominent people from Hollow Bastion, along with Rydia and Dagger, a friend of Rydia's. They made up the summoning team. A few other people capable of magic were situated on the town walls, concentrating on more regular magic.

"I'll lead the first wave. Rydia will go second, followed by Dagger." It was much too dangerous to call upon multiple eidolons in the same space. Not to mention that this way they could gather their power for a short while.

A full recitation would not only take some of the required off their shoulders, but it even powered up the summon. Aerith didn't know to what kind of eidolons Dagger had access to, but Rydia was quite powerful on her own, so if she trusted Dagger, Aerith did too.

- Valiant Hearts -

Yuffie's days as a lonesome highwayman came in handy now. It was easy for her to manufacture makeshift bombs from the things readily available in Agrabah—oil, wax, a few primitive chemicals maybe. The others watched with amazement at how quickly Yuffie put them together. They looked like useless crap, but Yuffie guaranteed their effectiveness.

After planting over forty explosives, they were set to go. The town was crawling with Heartless. But that was not what worried Kairi. What was worrying was the total lack of attention the Heartless were giving to the usually sought-after Keyblades. Whatever Jafar was doing up there in the palace, it wasn't good.

So far they had gone undetected. It was difficult to move from building to building. They couldn't travel over the roofs, and the streets were packed with Heartless. And yet the Heartless ignored them even when the Keybladers attacked them. They were being drawn in. Jafar was plotting something.

"We're good to go." Kairi and Olette nodded to Naminé and Yuffie. They were splitting into two teams for now, as they had to wrap this up quickly. The masses of Heartless below the palace were getting truly frightening. There were hundreds of them, easily.

Yuffie and Naminé took cover on a nearby roof, hiding in the shadows. It was almost pitch black in the town. "We should be able to see some kind of change when Jafar takes the bait. If he doesn't know there are only two of us down here, he won't suspect a thing."

Naminé was being quite calm despite the situation and sat down next to Yuffie. "I'm sure they'll stop being mad soon," she said to Yuffie. "I know they still care about you."

It was typical for Naminé to say such a thing in such an unfitting situation, but Yuffie still appreciated it regardless and moved a bit closer to Naminé.

"I really didn't want things to turn out like this." Yuffie knew that this incident would be brought up for a long time. People didn't forgive others so easily. Hell hath no fury…

"No one wanted things to get to this point. But I'm sure they'll forgive you. Kairi and Olette aren't like that." Naminé had already forgiven her. To her, it didn't make any sense to continue fighting if Yuffie regretted what she had done.

"You're such a nice girl, Naminé." Yuffie smiled and felt a little comforted.

"But you can't have me, I'm sorryyy!" Naminé giggled and patted Yuffie's head, who wiped away a few tears, happy that she was being treated so kindly.

In the distance, a gigantic explosion suddenly went off, and a large dust cloud emerged from the remains of the building. It was their cue.

Yuffie grabbed Naminé and picked her up, carrying her in front. One arm went below her legs, the other on her back. It would be difficult to fly while carrying a person, but Yuffie had to make do.

They were ready, and yet there was no sign of movement in the palace.

Seconds passed. Then a minute went by, and another explosion went off in a different direction, further to the east of the town.

This time something happened. Yuffie ducked under cover together with Naminé, refusing to let go as something descended from the palace and flew in the direction of the second explosion. Jafar had left. This was their chance.

Yuffie found it difficult to get altitude while carrying Naminé, and the fact she was still aching quite a bit from the fight with Olette didn't help. It took her almost a minute to reach the palace with Naminé in her arms. They entered through the catacombs, the open ground below the palace itself. Despite the ease of their entry, Yuffie had an ominous feeling about the palace. There was something different about it.

Naminé went ahead, while Yuffie stayed and watched two more explosions go off in different parts of the town. Kairi and Olette were trying their best.

She suddenly felt a small explosion right behind her and turned around. Naminé had drawn her Keyblade and had demolished something with a fire spell.

"Heartless," Naminé said briefly, and waited for Yuffie to lead. Yuffie was much quicker and had better reflexes.

They followed the corridor until they reached a small crossway, then headed north. A few more Heartless showed up in their way, but there were never more than one or two, which was barely a threat. Yuffie quickly dispatched them with her shuriken and Naminé covered their rear.

But it was odd, she thought. The Heartless were Bandit types, unable to fly. How had they gotten up to the palace?

They reached a set of stairs that brought them up to the hallways of the real palace. Yuffie needed a moment to recognize where they were, then led Naminé to the room with the crystal.

"There are enemies behind us!" Naminé shouted while running after Yuffie.

When Yuffie looked back, she saw at least five or six dozen Heartless on their heels—Bandit types mixed with Darkball types. But that was not all.

Yuffie stopped just in time. In front of them were even _more_ Heartless. But Yuffie wasn't worried yet. While Heartless were extremely susceptible to Keyblades, regular weapons worked fine if there was enough power behind them.

"_I summon the cold winds of the north!_" Naminé waved her Keyblade through the air and then pointed it at the approaching mass of Heartless. A freezing cold wind hit the Heartless, instantly freezing the first row of enemies and considerably slowing down the second.

Naminé turned around and prepared another spell while Yuffie threw a couple of small bombs into the masses, decimating their numbers quickly.

"_Flames of Inferno, burn away the world!_"

The ground below the Heartless in front opened and a massive burst of fire turned them to ashes. Naminé charged straight at the remainders, closely followed by Yuffie, who cut a small path with her shuriken. Naminé struck the remainders with ice spells.

The crystal room was right in front of them. Masses of Heartless were surrounding the crystal, likely guards placed there by Jafar. But these were no ordinary cannon fodder. Defender, Wizard, Wyvern, and Invisible types were there. Waves of fire, ice and lightning spells were shot at the two girls the second they entered the room. Heartless were aiming for Naminé right away.

"Buy me some time!" Naminé jumped back into a corner with Yuffie protecting her from the front. But there were too many enemies! Yuffie still had two speed drinks left from before and downed one, gaining the effects of a haste spell right away. With enormous speed, she cut through the enemies' front line, taking out three Wizards in a single attack. This condition left her wide open for counterattacks, but only if the enemy was fast enough.

"Center of all, infinite maelstrom of the universe…_Gravitra!_" A black ball appeared right above Naminé, drawing all the Heartless towards it. Yuffie was able to hold on to a stone pillar just in time. Naminé was immune to the spell, but Yuffie wasn't.

The bigger part of the enemy masses had been pushed into a single spot when the spell weakened.

"_Firag__a!_" Naminé shot three big fireballs right above her, trusting in her magic defense. The heat from the fire was mostly deflected by her magic clothes, but she suffered some scorched hairs.

Yuffie attacked indiscriminately by whatever was left from Naminé's attack while the blond girl ran to examine the crystal. Yuffie said it was Ix De-something, so she could start there. There was no way to tell how quickly Jafar would come back, though, and they were running out of time quickly.

"Ix Dera! Ix Dena! Ix Defa! Ix Desa! Ix Dema! Ix Deme!" Naminé wildly guessed the magic keyword, but nothing happened. She put her hands on the crystal and cast a strong analysis spell on it. The magic power was intact, but she couldn't understand how the crystal itself worked or what the password was.

"What are you doing? _Hurry up!_" Yuffie was moving around the room, sticking small devices onto the walls and the floor. If Jafar showed up, she could buy them enough time to escape. A genie was powerful, maybe even all-powerful, but they were still magical beings and there were ways to combat them. Not that Yuffie had ever tested these things before on something so powerful, but they could work. In theory.

"This isn't basic math!" Naminé complained, and enforced the analysis spell. But she quickly saw that there were over three hundred spell patterns embedded in the crystal. It would take days to decode all of them, and every single one could be the activation phrase.

And time had run out for them. Out of nowhere, a roughed-up Kairi and Olette appeared, showing the signs of an intense, one-sided battle. Blood stained their clothes and faces, their arms and legs. They were covered in injuries. They hit the ground with a loud smack. The red genie had caught on to them.

Jafar loomed over them, aiming at Naminé. He was about to do something to get her away from the crystal and he seemed like he wouldn't waste time doing any fancy speeches like before. He would deal with them swiftly.

Yuffie pressed a button, and everyone except Olette and herself screamed in pain and fell to the ground. But that was all lost in the psychotic scream of pain that came from Jafar. He was rapidly changing colors and bleeding from his eyes.

The devices Yuffie had attached to the walls and floor had created an anti-magical field, one that would destroy the magical energy of anyone inside. Yuffie was barely outside the field, but it couldn't be helped that Kairi and Naminé, the two Keybladers with magical energy, were inside. The devices needed a special substance to work, which Yuffie could only find in Hollow Bastion, and they were one-shot tries.

And then, suddenly, she remembered. "Naminé! _Try Ix Dela!_" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs.

Naminé heard her, but couldn't move from the pain. She had the greatest magical power of the four girls and this attack hurt her badly. But something grabbed her.

Olette lifted her up, pressing her hand against the crystal. She herself was quite badly injured, bleeding from several small wounds in her arms and legs.

"_Do it now!_" Olette couldn't hold up much longer…

Naminé focused the little rest of her magical power and concentrated on the spell pattern that matched the password. "_Ix Dela!_"

Naminé felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. All her remaining magical energy vanished in a single flash of light, and all of Yuffie's devices exploded at once, creating a smoke screen in the room.

Jafar was pulled in. He couldn't resist. The force was unbelievable. His very being, substance and soul, was being pulled by the crystal's power, a gigantic magical vacuum. He could do nothing against it. The crystal was completely invulnerable against magic and any matter he created was ultimately also magical. With a scream of terror, he realized he was being _absorbed_.

The crystal turned a bloody red and started vibrating, only to finally explode into a myriad of tiny shards. Olette covered Naminé and cried out when her back was pierced by at least a dozen shards. Any protection from her magical clothes was completely gone.

Yuffie couldn't see; the crystal explosion had released a thick green mist. But she could hear.

"_Now you've done it. You miserable rats!_"

That was Jafar's voice! The mist flowed out of the room. The explosions had caused several holes in the wall to appear. Yuffie searched the room until she spotted him.

Jafar, now appearing as a human wizard, was towering over the wounded and bleeding Olette. He rammed his staff into her side to turn her over and pull her off Naminé. He glared viciously at the little sorceress.

"_You!_ You will die _now!_" Jafar yelled as he conjured a massive fireball from his staff. He aimed at Naminé from point-blank range, ready to turn her to ashes.

Yuffie saw that Kairi couldn't move and neither could Olette, so she jumped at the wizard and threw off his aim. The fireball hit the ground and the flames missed Naminé and Olette, but the fire hit Yuffie badly, scorching her face and hair. She couldn't see and she rolled away on the floor in pain, her body covered in burns.

"Foolish girl! If you want to die so badly, then _so be it!_" Jafar stepped over the now-unconscious Naminé and transformed the lower end of his staff into a snake that wrapped itself around Yuffie's neck, trying to strangle her.

"I can't believe four little pests like you turned out to be so much of a hindrance. I underestimated you, but that won't happen again." Jafar watched, furious, as Yuffie struggled against the snake.

He couldn't do much more than this. He was little more than an empty shell of what he really was. His genie powers had been stripped away and it was really just because of quick thinking that he had survived.

Yuffie coughed and gasped for air, but it was futile. She didn't have the strength left to free herself from the snake. Her vision was getting blurry, the image of Jafar towering over her with wild rage seizing his face was fading. Was this her punishment for freeing him? For letting it get this far?

But there was something behind him. A shadow. No, a person, ever so slowly approaching Jafar from behind. Yuffie was almost out of breath and about to pass out.

Jafar felt two hands grab his throat, powerful as iron chains. From the corner of his eye he could see that it was one of the Keyblader girls, the one he had shot multiple times with magic bullets. She could still _stand_ with those wounds?

Olette's grasp tightened, and Jafar started to gasp for air, wheezing and trying to turn around. Olette was so much smaller than he was but she lifted him up in the air like he was made of paper. Her grasp was so powerful and terrifying that Jafar tried punching her hands, scratching them, anything to get them off his throat.

His feet were in the air, he was wildly moving around. He kicked and punched her, rammed his elbow in her face again and again, but it was like he was hitting a zombie. He had no magic left to help himself, it had all been absorbed by the accursed crystal. He didn't know the release command and even if he did, he couldn't speak. His eyes were turning red and he could feel his throat being slowly crushed. The pain was so excruciating that his body went into spasms as she tightened her grip even further. No words of rage, hatred or anger. A cold, brutal attempt to kill him.

Yuffie was almost frightened by how strong Olette was. She watched her stare at the former genie's back as she snapped his neck in cold blood. His body went limp, and his eyes rolled back. He was dead.

Olette walked over to Yuffie. She summoned her Keyblade and hacked the snake that was still around Yuffie's neck into pieces. With her bloodstained hands, she took Yuffie's hand, smiled and fell over, lying motionless next to Yuffie like a dead, cold body.

Yuffie could only answer that smile with one of her own before she passed out from pain and exhaustion.

None of them noticed that they all were thrown in the air just seconds later as the palace started to drop, the levitation magic undone by the wizard's death.

- Valiant Hearts -

"I call upon thee, Guardian of Heroes! I command thee, who rules and consumes the sky! I summon thee, Devastator of Ages! Rush to my aid to strike down my enemies, to scorch the earth, to consume the oceans and turn the skies into an ocean of flames! I released you from the chains of time. _Come forth, Bahamut!_" Aerith chanted one of her most powerful recitations for her most powerful eidolon.

A massive circle of dark clouds appeared over Hollow Bastion and a majestic black dragon emerged from it, flying over the tower. Aerith simply pointed her hand at the army to the west and Bahamut roared. With an ear-piercing scream, the king of dragons unleashed his Megaflare attack upon the enemy ranks. The destruction was frightening to behold, even at the distance they were at. The giant eidolon flew right at the enemy, firing away smaller blasts, causing impacts ranging easily twenty meters in size. His claws shredded through the ground forces, and he tore apart a Behemoth with his fangs easily.

But even an eidolon was not invincible. Countless masses of Nobodies jumped on the king of dragons, scratching him, wounding him, until even the powerful dragon could not longer flap his wings, crashing to the earth. Aerith released him, breathing heavily.

Rydia was just starting her chant. It was a very powerful eidolon she had studied for a while now, much more powerful than the ones she could summon easily. This one required a precise chant and high magical power to control it. The book had warned from berserk behavior.

"I call upon he who reigns eternal upon the non-lands of all! To strike disaster upon enemy and friend alike, to destroy the lands, to vanish all that is, I call your name! Heed my call and emerge from your prison! Bend Odin's iron chain and break free from all command! Let run wild your power, let run wild your mind, to destroy those that stand before you! I call your name, Lord of all Oceans, _Leviathan!_"

Aerith and Dagger both watched in awe at how Rydia summoned one of the eidolons most prone to running amok.

A gate of water formed in the air, just above the ground. It was over thirty meters high, a gigantic portal to a dimension nobody should ever set foot in. A snake's head, blue and glistening, slowly emerged from the portal, roaring with anger.

But the army was not going to stand idly by. Countless Nobodies, hundreds and thousands of them, rushed in, attacking the water god with all they had.

But it was not enough. Not in time. Leviathan emerged completely from the portal and a seemingly infinite amount of water swelled from the portal along with him, flooding the ground and pushing some of the troops away.

A group of eight Behemoth Heartless reinforced by countless sorcerer Nobodies prepared against the attack, putting up a shield of unparalleled strength. Leviathan's war cry sent fear into the hearts of enemy and friend alike. It took all Rydia had, every ounce of her willpower and strength, to control this wild beast. The water started flowing back and started to build up a massive wave. It towered so high over the town walls that Leviathan himself looked small in comparison.

The wave crashed against the ground and pushed everything in its path away. Not a single being could stand the immense force of the pressure the wave had. Nobodies were crushed like flies before a lion. Finally, it hit the Behemoth barrier. The water clashed with the force of many Heartless and Nobodies, and it was an even match of power. Losses were high, but the barrier held, shielding most of the main force behind. But the tsunami had soaked the land and the ground. Leviathan himself was long gone, vanished in the wave.

Rydia felt like throwing up. She hadn't thought it would be so hard to control a summon. The water god had struggled against her command with every fiber of his being.

"Dagger, your turn!" Rydia leaned against a large rock on the ground and tried to calm down and catch her breath. Aerith was already gathering her magical energy.

Dagger was not as powerful as Aerith or Rydia, but she had excellent control over her eidolons. She only knew how to summon a handful, but those were enough. A few were so particularly devastating…she remembered Cleyra vanishing in the face of Odin's power.

"You who reside in the cold of stone…you shall now be freed. Of Darkness your bones, of Darkness your hatred, of Darkness your soul. I summon you to do my bidding. To bring absolute destruction upon them who defy me. To bring devastation to fools who stand against me. I summon you, the oldest of sins to bring forth eternal Darkness. _Ark of Darkness!_"

At first, nothing seemed to happen and the other two summoners started to worry. Then they could see explosions covering the northern army. A black ship with a demonic bulk was flying over them, firing missiles and red laser blasts at the enemy. It left the airspace and stopped over Hollow Bastion, only ten meters above the observation deck. The turbulence it caused was so great that Aerith had to grab on to a metal railing in order to not be blown away.

Dagger stood in the middle of it and held up a magical pumice stone, letting her magic energy flow into it. "_Release!_"

The ship turned, mutated, transformed quickly into a giant humanoid robot with wings and a large blade on its back.

"_Charge!_" Dagger commanded the monstrosity, and it aimed at the southern army.

A red light emerged from its eyes, painting a massive magic seal in the air above the southern army. Its wings spread and countless beams of magical energy shot from its back, flying towards the seal. Each impact was like a massive firaga spell, and there were dozens of them. The ground turned into a realm of flames.

Dagger lifted her hand again. "_Eternal Darkness!_"

The southern army had not been ready for an attack like this and had already taken massive damage. But now the machine charged a spectacular ball of energy on its blade and fired.

The impact easily compared to Bahamut's Megaflare and blasted away all that stood in its way. Where once the center of the southern army had been was now a crater, created by the destructive laser of the eidolon. The robot transformed back into a ship and flew up in the air, past the clouds, vanishing before their eyes.

The enemy had taken a lot of damage, but it was not enough. The horizon was painted white with strains of blue, black, and red. Hollow Bastion was still hopelessly outnumbered. They needed something stronger, something truly powerful that nobody could stop. And that soon.

The armies moved in, rushing for an attack, but their opponents weren't finished yet.

"Limit to independent summons! We can't hit our allies!" Aerith commanded and started another recitation to call on a less-powerful summon to send into battle against the enemy.

Much further down, in front of the town walls, were four groups of people, armed to the teeth and ready to fight for their lives.

"Let's show them what real destruction is!" Tifa yelled at the top of her lungs to motivate her unit.

"The safety of Hollow Bastion is in our hands!" Leon was leading another unit, further to the north.

"…we won't lose." Cloud was not exactly a big motivator, but everyone knew about his power and that alone was reason enough to trust in him.

"To defend our last safe haven! To defend the powerless and our loved ones! To defend Hollow Bastion!" Ashe held a speech with Basch at her side.

The signal horn echoed over the plains outside the town and they finally got a view of what was coming for them. A wall of white—a massive cloud was approaching. Enemies in numbers they were unable to comprehend. No sane person wouldn't have feared to stand against masses like that. But they still would fight.

Tifa was ready to give them a great greeting. Her unit was mostly composed of highly trained and independent fighters who could take care of themselves. She was just there to keep it all together.

"Stick to units of four! Don't pass their backup lines! Wait until you see my sign to attack!" Tifa shouted and started running. Everyone knew that Tifa was the martial arts beast of Hollow Bastion, but they still couldn't trust their eyes when she almost flew over the ground, moving so fast.

She had gotten a little extra boost from Aerith earlier. Magically-enhanced gloves, the Premium Heart Plus. Both gloves started glowing by the time she was about ten seconds way away from the enemy line. The Nobodies were jumping, aiming, shooting at her, ready to take her down, but Tifa had a little surprise for them.

"_Final Heaven!_" Tifa jumped so high into the air that she could see the endless ocean of Nobodies before her. Aerith must have seen those too. But right now, their numbers were meaningless.

Turning in mid-air, Tifa did a backflip and charged towards the ground. With the impact of a meteor, she punched the ground. The explosion made even most eidolons pale in comparison. The earth shattered and a fissure ran through the ground, extending miles to the north and south.

"Once more!" Tifa punched the ground a second time, with her left hand this time, releasing another ultimate limit break. A massive earthquake shook the plains. The fissure widened significantly, spanning more than ten meters in width. That was Leon's cue.

He had been standing, his sword above his head in the air for over thirty seconds already, collecting magical energy. This was a powerful attack and hard to do, but it would do tremendous damage to the confused and stopped enemy forces.

"_Blast Zone!_" As he released all his magic energy into his gunblade, Leon created a massive pillar of light, piercing the clouds and reaching far beyond anyone could see. It took all his willpower to swing this kind of blade. The beam descended upon the enemies, crushing them. The energy went out of control in a matter of seconds, causing an explosion that sliced through the entire enemy line.

Cloud was up. He spread his single wing and ascended into the air. The plan was to summon his meteor storm with all his swords at once, dealing fatal damage to the backup units. But that wouldn't happen.

Cloud barely defended in time and only by instinct when something clashed against his sword. He only blinked once and looked straight into a scarred face. One of the Organization members was attacking him, so he flew higher.

"Scram!" he shouted at his unit, who turned and made way for him to fight.

Ashe was waiting for Cloud to do something, but she was too far to see the fight. As nothing happened, she simply went ahead with her own orders.

"Fire!" Ashe and Basch had a friend with excellent knowledge of firearms and as such was her unit. They took point and started firing at will, heavily armed. Ashe herself was preparing for something different. "Basch, on my sign."

"Yes, my queen."

They took stance next to each other, aiming at the thickest concentration of enemies in front of them. They were to the south, so Tifa's fissure did not hold them back as well as in the north. But they dished out heavy damage to the enemy, firing nonstop.

Tifa was in trouble as well. Being surrounded was not a problem, but the Organization member who was attacking her was. The guy disappeared one second and appeared in the next, hitting her hard. He was full of tricks. Again, he literally vanished from her field of vision. Tifa was hit hard in the back, losing her balance. But she was prepared now.

Taking the damage head on, she unleashed a drop kick to her back and connected. She ended up hitting him straight in the face, which gave her time to finally get a good look at him. Blond hair, middle-aged from the looks, a beard.

He disappeared again, and Tifa was attacked by masses of Nobodies. But they were hardly a challenge to her. Every single punch that connected unleashed a literal shock wave into the air, as if the atmosphere was trembling. The Nobodies were obliterated the second they approached her.

But even Tifa couldn't protect herself against an unlimited number of enemies and a powerful Organization member at the same time.

Out of nowhere, large black whips appeared, and it took Tifa all she had to evade them. A dozen of them attacked her at the same time. Before she knew it, Nobodies had limited the space for her to move to nothing. A tentacle hit her and Tifa saw no other option but to grab it and rip it out from where it came. Nobodies jumped on her, burying her under a mountain of white until it was ten meters high.

Leon and his unit had already engaged the Nobodies, but it was a futile attempt to decimate their numbers. For every enemy slain, ten more showed up. Leon could tell from the explosions and impacts further south that Cloud was fighting one of the Organization members. The northern army had extreme problems getting past the big fissure, but it didn't run as wide further south.

Cloud was a close match for the sword-wielding Organization member in skill, but he was overpowered in terms of raw strength. He had been smashed into the wall a few times and had suffered internal injuries from the impact. It was even worse that the enemy was using the same huge single sword style he did, but at least neither of them saw it necessary to talk or taunt their opponent.

Cloud unleashed several blade beams, forcing the enemy to move away, bringing some space between them.

He had to make use of his skills to beat this guy. He charged at the guy, making their blades clash vertically, and pushed him back just far enough to throw four of his five self-assembling sword sets out. Turning slightly, Cloud hit him in the stomach with his elbow, hard enough to distract him for a second. The swords stuck in the ground to all sides of the enemy. "_Omnislash_."

From far above, Aerith could see just how futile the battle was. Tifa's fissure had helped them keep back the northern army, but the main army to the west was advancing and surrounding Leon's forces. Ashe was holding out bravely in the south, dealing lethal damage to anything that approached, but even so, the forces advanced.

"Do any of you know any protective eidolons?" Aerith wasn't specialized to a certain kind of magic, and Rydia was a stronger summoner than she was.

But Rydia shook her head. The signal for retreat would come any second. The northern army was filling the gap in the ground with their own units to advance, and Leon would be completely surrounded in a few minutes.

Dagger shook her head as well. She once called upon Alexander, but that was only possible in Alexandria and with the four crystal pieces. She also needed Eiko to successfully call the holy eidolon.

"Technically…we could try to call an elemental lord or king. If it's all of us together, we could do it. One to manage the magic energy flow, one to control the eidolon, and one to recite the spell."

Rydia was proposing an extremely dangerous maneuver. Aerith knew just how unbelievably powerful those eidolons were. They were almost more like forces of the universe than real eidolons.

Aerith was a little desperate, with Tifa down there. Her unit had already abandoned their posts and went south to help Leon's unit. The southern army had advanced up to twenty meters to Ashe's unit and Leon was retreating. Cloud's unit was retreating as well, but she couldn't spot Cloud or Tifa themselves.

"How are we going to do that?" Aerith asked her. "I don't know of any way to pool magic energy from three people. Two, maybe, but three?" Aerith was quite well versed in experimental magic, but…

"The Sorceress Pact." Rydia couldn't look into the eyes of the others when she suggested that.

"Are you crazy? That thing can't be undone! Do you know how dangerous that is?" Aerith knew about it but never thought there would be someone reckless enough to try it. Dagger knew the general effect of the pact but not the details and looked confusedly from Aerith to Rydia.

"I don't think we have much of a choice. We all live close to each other, so even if it can't be undone…" Rydia was every bit as worried as Aerith about the side effects of the pact, but there was no other way to summon a king or lord without losing their lives.

"Whom do we call?" Rydia knew it was pretty much moot which king or lord they called if they ended up going through with the pact. They all were powerful enough to cause unimaginable damage or even destroy whole worlds if they went out of control.

"I'm a Pisces, so I have the highest comp ability to Celsius and Mateus." Aerith knew that both relied on ice, which existed only very sparingly around Hollow Bastion.

"Libra. That makes it Exodus and Maxwell." Rydia had a very advantageous zodiac sign in regards to eidolons.

"I don't know my birthdate." Dagger hadn't bothered to learn about elemental lords and kings. Her magic was nowhere sufficient to even use spells powered by force.

"Rydia, you're more skilled in eidolon control, anyway. You're going to summon," Aerith quickly decided. She knew that neither Celsius nor Mateus were going to be much help, and Dagger's affinity was unknown. "I think Maxwell is a better try. I read he's supposed to be the sorcerer of the kings. I will handle the magic control. Dagger, you'll recite the spell."

Technically, they _all_ recited the spell, but there was a huge difference between just saying words and putting magical energy into it.

"Let's do this." Aerith grabbed a small rock shard. They had to do the pact first. Without the pact, it was impossible to summon an elemental king and not have him go berserk.

Over one hundred meters further down, Cloud had finished his fight. He had wounded the enemy badly, but had been stabbed in the process. He was bleeding heavily and retreated behind the town walls together with the rest of his men. He was being healed, but Cloud was down and unable to fight.

Leon and his men had retreated as well, together with Tifa's forces. The latter was still buried under a mountain of Nobodies, being crushed by the sheer weight of them. An alarm siren pierced the growls and marching sounds of the battlefield. It was the sign that the summoning team was going to do something drastic and that everyone had to retreat back into town. The Nobodies too, retreated back from the town walls.

A magic circle of an almost incomprehensible size soon covered the sky. It was composed of four elemental circles with one major circle encompassing all of the others. It was multiple miles large. The white masses scrambled away from the town, finally giving Tifa a chance to break free, so she retreated as fast as she could.

Ashe and Basch, together with their unit, had retreated to the top of the town walls, still firing on the retreating enemy.

The summoning was in full process now. They were all kneeling on the ground, their hands joined in the middle of a circle of blood on the ground. All three of them were bleeding from both sides of their cheeks and the backs of their hands—the leftovers from the sorceress pact.

The first three of the four recitations had been completed, and Dagger was feeling the stress on her body. It was nothing like summoning the Ark of Darkness. Nothing like calling power from Bahamut. It was like they were attempting to give a god _form_. To pull down a star and control it. And that was just the magic recitation. Rydia had to control that thing.

"_To the end of all, to the beginning of all, beyond eternity and forgotten in time, I call upon you, Lord of Elements. Master of Inferno, Emperor of Floods, Ruler of Earth and Lord of the Sky. Sorcerer of the First Age, heir to Origin's heritage, Master of the Four that make the world. To end us all, to create us all, to grant light and darkness, to grant life and death, I call upon you. To aid us in our hour of need, to aid those who seek your power, to aid those who pay the price in blood. I summon thee, King of Sorcery, from beyond the stars, MAXWELL!_"

Dagger finished the recitation and felt like her head had exploded. She could not see; it was dark before her eyes. Aerith felt like her very soul was being consumed or ripped out of her body. Her connection to Rydia was like a monumental maelstrom of magical energy. She drained all of Dagger's power as well, not leaving an ounce behind. Aerith still kept the connection steady, despite losing gradually all sense of sight, touch, and hearing.

Rydia's consciousness was heightened by all the magical power. She stood among the stars, in a place no human should set foot into. A gate of gigantic proportions was before her and it had opened bit by bit with every recitation. It was finally wide open, and before her was the King of Sorcery, the King of the Four Elements, Maxwell.

His appearance was just that of an old man, floating in midair by himself, wielding a thick grimoire and a long wooden staff with imposing magic carvings. His voice echoed not only through Rydia's mind but even reached the ears of everyone in Hollow Bastion.

"_What dost thou desire?_"

And Rydia answered, "Protection from the Nobodies." It was best to keep pleadings to elemental kings as simple as possible.

"_Very well._"

The magic circle burned up with magic. Everyone in Hollow Bastion watched in awe as an old man of unseen proportions ascended through it, floating calmly above Hollow Bastion. His gaze was down on Rydia, a tiny speck of green far below him. The impudence of humans really surprised him, but she was an excellent summoner. Her grasp on his being, even if it was only temporary, was iron and strong.

Maxwell opened his grimoire and recited a short spell in an unknown language. His lifted his staff and a shimmering shield of magic surrounded Hollow Bastion, covering the town and castle below it. An absolute defense.

Rydia felt her grasp on the king loosening with every second. It was an ordeal to control him this far and it had only been less than a minute. But the work was done. Aerith closed the connection to Maxwell, making the King of Sorcery vanish. Rydia could not see, hear, feel, or move. Neither of them could. Summoning an elemental king physically in the world was one of the most reckless things any sorcerer could do.

But they were safe. For now.

- Valiant Hearts -

"Superior, they have erected a barrier. The forces cannot pass it. It surrounds the entire city and about fifty meters around the town," Demyx reported. He was the one most well versed in magic. "They called an elemental king. We can't underestimate the power of those things. They must have sacrificed some lives to do it. It's only a temporary barrier, but it could last for a few days." Demyx knew about the elemental kings and lords from his previous life.

"It does not matter," Xemnas calmly replied. He was standing on a hill far outside the town, looking over the battle. The fools had dealt significant damage with their attacks, but it didn't matter. The Organization would achieve its goal without fail.

Xemnas stepped forward and put his arms forward, his hands together, aiming at the energy shield of Hollow Bastion. A concentrated burst of energy escaped his hands, hitting the shield. The shield absorbed the energy, but the impact was so great that the ground outside the shield was completely destroyed.

"Call the others. We will finish this ourselves." Xemnas' cold, yellow eyes fixated on the town. Why hadn't the Keybladers shown up yet? According to Luxord, one of them could use devastating summoning magic. But his intelligence said that the three summoners on top the castle were not Keybladers.

Where were they? Where were the Keybladers?

- Valiant Hearts -

Kairi slowly awoke. The wind was blowing through her hair and on her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was flying. But the ground was soft. Carpet? Yes. She was on the flying carpet.

She managed to turn her head. Flying next to them was the blue genie. "Where…" Kairi found it difficult to speak. Jafar had attacked them and they had suffered badly. Olette had been way worse off than she…

"Oh, you came to! Thank God. Al told me to bring you four to the Cave of Wonders' entrance. He said that's where you guys came from." The genie was very relieved to see that Kairi was awake.

"What happened…" Kairi ignoring her burning throat to a few important questions. She managed to slowly get up. Olette, Naminé and Yuffie were all next her on the carpet, all unconscious. Olette's clothes were like new. No sign of the holes and the blood. Her body was fine. And so were Naminé and Yuffie.

"Al and I rescued you guys. The palace was falling and I kept it up while he got you outta there. He stayed behind in Agrabah." Genie didn't know the girls very well and was aware that they had to be of considerable power to remedy the situation like they had. Jafar was dead. Nothing in the world could ever bring him back.

"Did you heal us?" Kairi checked for her own injuries, but found them to be mostly missing. Her throat was burning from thirst and she still felt like she had taken a beating, but she could move.

"You were really badly hurt." Genie pointed into the distance. "We're almost at the Cave of Wonders. Can you wake them up?" Genie knew about the existence of other worlds. It was one of the things that came with just being a genie. But he could never tell anyone about it. He knew the four were from the outside and that they had to leave.

Kairi shook Naminé a little until she came to. She was in a daze and still visibly in pain. Kairi knew Naminé had suffered so much more than the others from having her magic ripped away.

Olette was a bit worse off. She had lost a lot of blood, and while her wounds had been healed, her body was weak. It took Kairi a little bit to make Olette regain consciousness. She was confused and dizzy.

As soon as they recognized Kairi, they threw herself at her, hugging her, tears in their eyes that she was still alive. "I knew we'd make it!" They all were still in pain, but none of it was as bad as before.

Olette faintly recalled her last desperate measure to protect Yuffie, even if it meant her own demise. While Naminé was still crying and rubbing her cheek on Kairi's face, Olette let go and looked over to the still-unconscious Yuffie.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Olette took Yuffie's hand and held hers firmly in her own. "But I forgive you."

Olette closed her eyes and smiled, thinking of the happy times she had spent with Yuffie. While they couldn't go back to these times, they were still alive. They would go home and become friends again. That was what Olette wanted most.

"Olette, wake her up, please. We need to leave soon." Kairi was a little busy trying to calm down Naminé, but every bit as happy as Olette was that things worked out without anyone dying.

"Genie? Can you remove those?" Olette asked the blue genie and pointed at the black wings on Yuffie's back. They were scorched and still there, despite Jafar having died. It was a little weird.

"Mixing magic is extremely unstable and dangerous! It could kill her or turn her into something totally _weird_. I'd rather not try if it having them isn't going to kill her. They're magical, they should heal over time." Genie wasn't sure about the last part.

Yuffie finally opened her eyes, looking straight up. The dawn sky was beautiful, but so was Olette's face that was right there with the sky. Yuffie could feel her body aching and hurting all over, so she knew she was alive, and that Olette was there with her. It took her a bit of time until she realized that Olette was holding her hand. Yuffie blushed a little and looked away.

"I guess we're still alive." Yuffie clearly remembered the terrible sight of Olette killing Jafar in cold blood to save her. She didn't want to remember an Olette like that. She preferred the upbeat and kind girl that was with her now.

"More or less. And we need to get going. We caused a lot of damage to this world. It will take time to recover," Kairi answered instead.

They arrived at the Cave of Wonders. The rest of the way was a secret from the genie and the flying carpet, so the girls would have to go alone. It took them a few minutes of rest on the ground before they were able to walk.

"Thank you for your help. Give Aladdin my thanks for saving us," Kairi said to the genie. She looked past the hill of sand that hid the Cave of Wonders. "But we have to go, and you do too."

The genie said his goodbyes quickly and he left with the carpet. Kairi and the others slowly walked to the same gateway they had used to go to the town. There was no telling how devastated Agrabah itself was for now. It would take much to rebuild it. But the evil wizards were dead, which meant the world was safe for now.

"This was a hard battle. I am glad we're all still alive. Yuffie…I will not report all of it to Leon." Kairi stopped walking and summoned her Keyblade. "But if you do something like this _ever again_…"

Directing her Keyblade at Yuffie gave quite the impression to her and the others. "I will _strike you down_. You are a friend, but we're not playing games. The fate of worlds lies in our hands, and no matter what, we cannot let anyone meddle with our mission."

Kairi's words echoed through Yuffie's mind. The grand significance of their mission had been clear to her, but only really living through it made Yuffie realize how dangerous and hard being a Keyblader was.

"Don't worry." Yuffie smiled and looked at Olette. "You won't have to do that. Olette would cut me down if I ever did something like that again." Yuffie felt a sting in her heart saying it, but she herself wished for it. To not let her emotions run wild like they had ever again.

"Then all is said that needed to be said." Kairi lowered her weapon and turned around, looking at the rising sun. "It's time to leave." She wanted to be gone before the sun was in the sky.

Kairi lifted her Keyblade again and aimed it at the keyhole, opening the gateway. Yuffie, Olette, and Naminé had already walked through when Kairi turned around one last time. "I hope I never have to return here again."

With those last words, the Keyblader left and the portal closed behind her.

The gateways of darkness were as cold as ever. Yuffie had some experience walking them, but it was reassuring to be with the others.

"Let's go home," Kairi said and took the lead.

- Valiant Hearts -

Xemnas was floating high in the sky. The other members right behind him. Below him were the masses of Nobodies, their numbers decreasing. Xemnas was absorbing them, drawing them towards himself like an unstoppable drain. The leader of Organization XIII was holding out his cupped hands out, their shape like a bowl.

"What is he doing?" Demyx whispered to Luxord, who kept quiet. Demyx knew that a barrier of this level would be nearly impossible to break. Not even the Superior should be able to compete with Maxwell, the King of Sorcery.

A first microscopically small ball of pure white appeared in his hands. It grew slowly, growing until it reached the size of a golf ball. Below him was only wasteland now. Tens of thousands of Nobodies had been absorbed by him.

He grabbed the collective energy of the Nobodies with his right fist and crushed it. The sudden power shook his whole body, but his iron expression never changed. "Prepare to attack."

Xemnas suddenly charged straight at the barrier and slammed into it with his fist. The energy he had taken in was unleashed spontaneously and created a whirlwind of white energy that clashed against the energy shield. The ground wasn't the only thing that tremored before this clash of otherworldly power, the very sky was parted and showed the stars. His own forces were blasted away, and the wall inside the barrier was destroyed by the violent energy rejection.

Xemnas clenched his teeth and hammered his other fist against the barrier, using the full extent of his power as well as the absorbed energy.

And his hands penetrated the barrier. Slowly, every so slowly, his fingers got inside and pulled open a hole. With one last, great effort, Xemnas ripped a hole in the barrier, big enough for a person to fit through.

Xemnas was indeed impressed by how much effort it took him to break the barrier. He would not underestimate them again.

He went in, followed seconds later by his subordinates, the remainder of the Organization XIII. It was time to teach others what true power was. He would not leave a single one of the worms alive.

"Find me the Keybladers!" he ordered. "Take them! Kill everyone else!"

Xigbar was the first to follow the orders. He released a large number of bombs from his cloak and dropping them. The explosion completely annihilated the main part of the western gate and destroyed a large part of the plaza behind it.

Xemnas ascended higher than everyone else, looking at the town from the sky. They would show themselves. They would fight. And they would perish.

Luxord was flying over to the tower, intending to take out the summoners, when something hit him with such force that he crashed into a nearby building. Tifa had taken him out from midair, raging with anger and determination to stop him.

"Time to settle this, old man!" Tifa shouted from the roof of a nearby building. She had already anticipated the same attack as before and aimed for her back, turning in the fraction of a second and hitting Luxord right in the chest and smashing him into the rooftop.

Not wasting a second, Tifa jumped on top of him, trying to smash his skull in. "_Final Heaven!_"

Tifa's glowing fist connected right with Luxord's, the energy mass destroying the whole building. Tifa fell together with Luxord.

And suddenly she was hit right in the chest with enough force to send her flying. Tifa smashed against a building, and Luxord was already right before her by the time she realized what was going on. He had completely blocked her Final Heaven attack. He didn't even have a scratch!

Tifa was hit again in the chest, smashing through walls and rolling over the ground until she crashed against a pillar. Luxord jumped back and created ten little dark energy balls which flew straight at Tifa.

The woman got up in time, smashed the ground below her, and fell a level deeper in time to escape the energy balls. Luxord had no time to activate any more cards. Tifa broke right through the ceiling of the level below, right in front of him.

Tifa hit him with all she could and this time Luxord was the one sent flying through the walls. His body slammed into the ground outside, and Tifa was right behind him, ready to take him out. She still needed time to attack with another Final Heaven. And this bastard was full of tricks.

Luxord had clearly underestimated the bitch. He would need to use his King of Diamonds to get the job done, so he used his Queen of Diamonds to create his floating fortress card in midair, using it as foot hold to jump away on top of another building, out of the crazy woman's reach.

Luxord needed a little time. But Tifa was right behind him, much faster than he was. Luxord disappeared again, and Tifa felt her legs getting hit. There was no way of telling where the next attack would come from.

She took another hit to her chest. The guy really didn't pull his punches. Tifa spat a little bit of blood when she collided with the ground again. She could see the sky above her—and there he was, surrounded by dozens of energy balls. She was running out of time!

Luxord unleashed not only the orbs but also the dark energy whips again. The whole building crumbled under their impact, and Tifa fell.

Luxord aimed at her with his Queen of Clubs. It was worth the shot. If he could take the bitch out, it was one worry off their shoulders. An arrow of concentrated dark energy appeared right in front of Luxord and he shot it at Tifa immediately. She was still falling, with little way to escape, and that arrow was bad news.

Tifa grabbed a nearby falling rock, easily twice her size, and kicked it up in the air. The arrow hit it and released a black orb that completely annihilated the stone.

But her worries weren't over. Tifa looked down and saw _another_ Organization member. A guy with a massive sword and a scar on his face was fighting Leon and winning. Leon's arms were bleeding from the sheer force of the man's impacts.

Saïx was about to charge at Leon again when he noticed the crumbling building. But he was too late. Tifa was already in position and punched him right in the face with all the force of falling. Saïx was sent flying and flipped over the ground multiple times. Leon was thankful for Tifa's assistance and went right in for the kill.

Luxord appeared right behind Leon, ready to take him out, but he still underestimated Tifa's speed. She grabbed the back of his head and smashed him in the ground, causing a small crater to appear from the impact. She could hear multiple bones snapping and decided to finish him off. Lifting her right leg, she smashed it right down on his back, sure to have broken his spine.

And he disappeared. Just how many lives did these people have? Tifa was caught by surprise when Leon came flying right at her, thrown by an enraged Saïx.

Luxord reappeared right next to Saïx. "Dammit, they'll make me use my Ace of Diamonds."

"Let's finish this." Saïx charged right at Tifa and Leon, followed by Luxord from the air.

- Valiant Hearts -

Xigbar was fighting with Ashe and Basch. He was at a heavy disadvantage because of their fighting style. Whenever one of them was wide open, the other one was ready for a lethal counterattack.

Xigbar ascended high into the air. "Let's see how you like this!"

Xigbar started to spin quicker and quicker, far out of reach of the queen and her knight. He would simply take away all their hiding spots and attack them all at once.

"Throw me," Ashe commanded coldly, and Basch obeyed right away. Xigbar was surprised when Ashe approached him in midair at high speed, but he was ready. He unleashed a myriad of daggers tipped with explosives, a rain of destruction. They flew in every direction right below him, and Basch was hit on his arms and legs. But Ashe had already ascended above Xigbar's range.

With a mighty slash, Ashe's sword cut through Xigbar's cloak and sliced his shoulder deeply. The Nobody retreated further above, while Ashe fell downwards. The ground was devastated from the explosive daggers, and Basch was heavily injured, but he still caught Ashe.

"Leave this to me." Ashe saw no point in making Basch fight when he was already injured. "Men!" Ashe shouted, and Xigbar was caught by surprise.

In an instant, dozens of armed marksmen were aiming at him. He put up a barrier of mirrors right around him but was still hit by three stray bullets. Xigbar fell, and Ashe was waiting for him.

Xigbar had been looking down on these fighters, but now he was serious. Xigbar moved almost instantaneously now and reached the rooftop right away. A quick swirl, and every single marksman had been stabbed by several blades. He jumped over to the other roof and repeated his attack. They had no time to aim or shoot.

Basch had retreated, leaving Ashe behind, who had also decided to retreat. These guys were monsters. They needed the help from their magic elite and the Keybladers quickly!

Xigbar didn't make the mistake of letting them escape. He cut off Ashe's and Basch's escape route by bombing the entire street's entrance and exit, trapping them. But he was limited in his maneuverability, and Ashe was quick and strong. Not quite as strong as Tifa, but much more so than normal people.

Xigbar raised his blades in defense, and Ashe charged at him, knowing she could overpower him in raw force. And she didn't care about fighting dirty. Ashe whirled up some dirt from the collapsed buildings, blinding Xigbar, who tried to escape.

But Ashe didn't allow that. She rammed her sword right into his left arm and tried to move it up, intending to cut off his arm. Xigbar screamed in pain and agony and responded by hitting Ashe's face with his bare hands in panic. Ashe was bleeding from nose, eyes, and head, but she still continued to try and cut off Xigbar's arm.

But only for another second. Ashe, out of sheer survival instinct, jumped sharply to her left, but her right shoulder was still pierced by a large spear. Another member of the Organization had showed up. Basch was in no condition to fight, and Ashe was almost unable to as well. This was bad.

Xaldin charged straight at Basch, ready to kill him. But he underestimated the knight. Basch endured being stabbed through his shoulder and suffered cuts on his arms, sides, and legs when he grabbed Xaldin's throat, his grip so powerful that Xaldin couldn't resist when Basch smashed him into the alley wall multiple times. Blood ran from his head and shoulders.

"My queen, please escape!" Basch couldn't use his left arm anymore and he wouldn't be able to kill both of them like this…

Ashe pulled the spear out of her shoulder, clenching her teeth, and used a strong instant healing spell to stop the bleeding and repair some tissue damage. She picked up her sword and looked for Xigbar, but he had already escaped. Ashe moved to assist Basch, but it was too late.

Xaldin emitted a massive electric shock and Basch was hit at point-blank range. He fell to the ground. It was hard to tell whether he was still alive. Ashe knew they were in grave danger.

Xaldin collected his spears, ten of them in all, and had them hover in the air right next to him. In a small space like this, he was at an extreme disadvantage, so he jumped away, leaving the queen. Xaldin could always finish them later.

Ashe dropped her sword and went to check on Basch. He was alive, but needed treatment.

How could they go on like this? The Organization was just too strong.

- End of Chapter XX-VI -


	27. War and Battle – Ultimate Destruction

**Working on 28, shouldn't take long. I hope.  
**

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX-VII

_War and Battle – Ultimate Destruction_

"I'll take the sword bastard, Leon." Tifa clenched her fists and focused on Saïx, which left Luxord for Leon. A two-versus-two battle, with the Organization having the clear advantage, as both Leon and Tifa had already sustained damage.

"Go ahead." Leon knew there was no ordering Tifa around right now, and he was not the right person to compete in a fight of sheer brute force. He knew nothing of how Luxord fought, and it was time to find out. Leon was pretty good with magic, and he had learned some tricks from Yuffie in the past.

"_Haste All!_" Leon and Tifa were surrounded by a faint yellow glimmer for a moment before the martial artist charged straight at Saïx, ready to punch his head off. She wouldn't take any prisoners. She was fighting to kill.

"_Beat Rush!_" Tifa felt her fists clash with an unknown metal. Saïx was forced back, sliding over the ground as each of Tifa's punches connected with his sword. She was too fast for him now. Tifa went right around him and grabbed his face, smashing him into the ground, face first. But she had underestimated Saïx.

The sword wielder had not hit the ground. He stopped Tifa's violent attack by simply pushing his own force against hers. His arms were trembling. His hands placed on the ground, only centimeters stopped his face from touching the ground. The woman was strong. But he was stronger!

With one powerful push, he forced Tifa back, making her lose her balance, and got up. He had not regained proper footing yet when Tifa attacked again. Saïx turned halfway, grabbed her arm and was about to throw her when Tifa grabbed his arm with her other hand and put her full weight on just his arm.

"_Meteor Dive!_"

They hit the ground like an earthquake. The impact of the two caused a small crater in the ground and whirled up a lot of dust. In the cloud, they lost each other and jumped away.

Leon was much better matched to Luxord than the Gambler of Fate liked. He was the type to anticipate attacks and analyze his attack pattern. That much was obvious, for he kept only evading and was always closely following Luxord with his eyes. He, Luxord, was restricted from fighting at full power. He had just used his Ace of Diamonds. He couldn't risk his life fighting these fools. He still had a score to settle with those pesky Keybladers!

Leon was thankful that he had taken some of Yuffie's materia. It was odd to use them, and at first he couldn't get a hold on the system, but he was now thankful for it.

"_Fire!_" Leon started shooting a series of fireballs at Luxord which the Nobody evaded skillfully. The man had ascended high into the air, riding on an oversized card. It allowed him to concentrate his energy on fighting instead of flying.

Leon was suddenly swallowed up by a dust cloud and lost sight of Luxord. But it meant Luxord could also not see him. Tifa and Saïx where having a go at it inside the cloud. He could hear them brawling. It would be downright suicidal for anyone to intervene. Tifa's punch could kill a grown man with ease, and Saïx was equally matched from the sound of it.

Another impact shook the ground. Saïx had grabbed Tifa's leg and smashed her into the ground like a flail. Tifa felt one of her ribs crack. The guy was at least as strong as she was!

He lifted her up again, right above his head, to smash her into the building right behind him. But Tifa had years of experience in fighting. The second she flailed right over him, she grabbed his head with all her might. Saïx didn't let go and still threw her. Tifa pulled him with her and they both hit the wall, smashing it in. They were now inside the building.

The air was now full of dust from the damage that fool Saïx and the woman had caused. Without knowing his enemy's whereabouts, Luxord quickly retreated skyward. There was nothing wrong with being cautious in a fight. He wasn't Saïx or Xaldin, who could just keep on taking damage. And his enemy was a sword user. It wasn't like Luxord would get away with a small cut if the guy hit him.

A lightning bolt emerged from the dust cloud and Luxord evaded it with ease. He unleashed his hellish black whips and began to tear apart the area where the bolt had come from. It was better to overdo things a little. But he noticed movement next to him a little too late.

Leon jumped from the top of the highest building that was nearest to Luxord, close enough to take him out in one clean hit and cleave him right in half. Centimeters separated him from Luxord when his gunblade hit a barrier of some sort. Leon put all his strength into breaking it, but there was no passing it.

Luckily a gunblade wasn't just any old sword! Leon flipped a switch and the blade opened, split into two, and revealed a large revolver. Leon pulled the trigger six times quickly in succession, and the bullets ricocheted off the barrier at different points. And Leon was already falling, having attacked from mid-air without a foothold. But he had a backup plan.

"_Fated Circle!_" Leon swung his blade, turned around in mid-air, and protected his face from the heat blast.

Luxord was hit by an enormous flame wave that consumed him and the card he was standing on. Luxord screamed out in pain, but his determination wasn't as weak as to be beaten by such a thing. He vanished, abandoning his card, and appeared right behind Leon, putting both his arms on Leon's back.

Four large shock waves shook Leon. It felt as if Luxord had just smashed his heart and lungs. He spat blood and his eyes rolled back, losing consciousness. Luxord had no time to escape his own attack and they both hit the ground. Luxord's body cushioned the impact for Leon, but the gambler hadn't lost quite yet.

Meanwhile, Tifa was smashing Saïx's face repeatedly against a massive stone pillar. Saïx's body was covered with injuries and his face looked like someone had used it as an anvil. Tifa wasn't looking so good either—Saïx had lost his sword in the initial brawl and from there on the two had attacked each other indiscriminately without concern for their own well-being. The woman was too tough for his liking.

The Nobody smashed the pillar in front of him with a single powerful punch and Tifa lost her balance when she tried to smash his face against the pillar again. Saïx ducked down immediately and grabbed Tifa's leg. His grip was so powerful that it left bloody marks on Tifa's skin.

He smashed the woman against a nearby pillar so powerfully that the entire building shook. Tifa felt another rib or two crack and the level of pain reached was almost unbearable. She kicked Saïx's face with her left leg, knocking him over. He let her go.

She had to end this quickly. She was as strong as he was, and faster, but he was much more durable than she was. The building was starting to shake even worse than before. Their fight had gone too far, and he building was coming down on them.

Tifa escaped on her own, keeping a keen eye on her enemy, who was right behind her. She barely registered the other Nobody in front of her and Leon on top of him. Saïx simply trampled Leon and Luxord without regard for his ally. He jumped and was able to grab Tifa's legs, causing her to hit the ground face first.

He was right on top of her when Tifa turned around, determined to take him out regardless of what happened. She couldn't let those things do whatever they wanted anymore!

"_Final…!_" Tifa reached to punch Saïx, who sat right on top of her, ready to smash her head to pieces.

"…_Heaven!_" Tifa hit Saïx right in the face and the explosion from the force consumed them both.

The ground below them gave way. The blinding light was only disturbed by the piercing screams of pain from Tifa and Saïx. There was no way for the force to escape below, so it all went up. The explosion threw both of them high in the air.

She caught a glimpse of Saïx—his eyes were pure white. There was no trace of consciousness left in them. But Tifa had paid a high price for her win. She couldn't feel most of her body. And she saw the ground coming closer at an alarming speed. The second she hit the ground, everything went dark.

Luxord looked down upon the two monsters from far above, back on his floating card. It took everything he had at the moment to maintain the card. The battle with the swordsman hadn't been easy. But he had emerged as the winner, for he was still standing. However, he hadn't gotten off lightly. His scalp was scorched badly, and so was his face. His cloak had been partially burned away, revealing his clothes underneath.

He couldn't feel his left arm after the quadruple impact. It had been foolish to use the Ace of Spades that quickly in succession. He had to force the activation with his body, and he was now paying the price for it. His left arm hung down like a dead limb.

He needed time. And he needed to report to Xemnas that Saïx was down.

- Valiant Hearts -

There was no doubt about it. They were not there.

The Keybladers were not there. They had to be on a mission somewhere. If that was so, then there was no choice but to take over this place and wait for them to show themselves. If he kept their friends as captives, they would come. Such was their nature—they would walk right into a trap if it meant saving their friends.

Xemnas floated far over the city in the sky, twenty meters above the ground. He was surrounded by a large group of people who had taken position on buildings, aiming at him. What were they hoping to achieve? He could not fathom that they were not aware of the difference in power. They were peasants before a king.

"Begone, fools." Xemnas lifted his hands and the air around him shook violently as he started a spell. The fighters from Hollow Bastion immediately took cover.

A single large ball of shimmering white light formed between his hands. The people were vermin coming before him to be exterminated. He did not care for their faces, their lives. His plan had diverged a lot from its initial state, and he had to fix it.

"_Vanish_." A single cold word. His eyes did not bother to even blink.

The orb burst and a countless number of white needles shot at his enemies. No barrier held them back. They pierced matter like it was paper. No magic could withstand it.

His enemies fell like flies. Like ants, tormented and killed by an angry child. There was no battle. No exchange of blows. Just plain annihilation.

Now he had to get rid of that protective barrier. Even though he had managed to chase the main members inside, their army was still bound outside. He knew that the responsible people were on top of the observation deck, but he would not go and fight them. It would just be a waste of his time. He would just take out the whole castle instead.

Xemnas turned slightly, facing Ansem's castle. A slightly nostalgic feeling ran through him, but he could not place it. There was something about that castle…that town. But he remembered nothing, and he had no desire to. He did not long to go back to being human. To be "filled," as some called it.

Xemnas had no need for incantations or magic circles. He simply created another massive ball of white, shimmering energy above himself. The orb grew bigger and bigger until it was ten times his size. He would destroy that castle in one big blow. It would force the rats to leave their nest and also get rid of that barrier.

Without a word or emotion, he sent the orb slowly floating to the castle—a slow but inevitable outcome.

But he knew little about the dark residents of Hollow Bastion. An aura so dark and powerful that Xemnas felt intrigued suddenly appeared from nowhere, right in front of the tower.

Xemnas did not recognize the man. He had long, silver-colored hair, eyes as cold as the darkness beyond worlds, and one black wing. It was a man he had heard of seldom in reports.

The orb reached Sephiroth, who put his right hand forth. A dark glimmer resonated in his chest—the black materia. The white orb held back and dissipated quickly before Sephiroth, who calmly levitated in the air.

Xemnas was slightly impressed, so he did not attack the man. The man was not on the side of the Hollow Bastion residents, Xemnas could feel it. The man's whole being was darkness, different from the Heartless, but nevertheless evil. Evil to the core of being personified darkness.

"Why do you hinder me?" Xemnas had a feeling that it would be difficult to reason with this person, but he would rather not waste his energy fighting someone of his magnitude.

"I could ask the same of you. You are…not darkness. Nor light. You are the same as those things out there. What business could you possibly have here?" Sephiroth knew little about the things going on in Hollow Bastion. But he was aware of a few quintessential facts.

Xemnas remained silent. He would not expose his plan. If this man truly stood against him, Xemnas would kill him.

The air trembled between the two opposing forces. Xemnas, the Superior of the In-Between. Sephiroth, the One-Winged Angel. Beings of untold power.

"I see," Sephiroth answered calmly, and his black blade formed in his hand. It was a massive blade, longer than any other—a thin and deadly Masamune. Sephiroth vanished in a burst of black feathers and appeared right in front of Xemnas, slashing at him.

Xemnas stopped Sephiroth's blade with his bare hands, only millimeters between his flesh and the cold blade. Sephiroth moved back and attacked Xemnas again, who was forced to evade. Sephiroth was so fast that his sword strikes appeared like lightning flashes in the air. Xemnas saw no other option but to fight with his full power. He could not underestimate this man.

Xemnas threw his arms down and two blades slid from his sleeves. They were swords with blades of white energy. He quickly crossed his blades in front of himself to avoid being cleft in two by Sephiroth's sword.

Now it was his turn to attack. Xemnas charged at Sephiroth and attacked him mercilessly with his full power. The One-Winged Angel was forced to retreat.

With a lightning-fast movement, Sephiroth summoned a swarm of meteors that appeared from the air. Xemnas put up a white energy shield which destroyed them all. They both charged at each other and their blades clashed. The buildings around them shook from the shock wave of those forces clashing.

Their movements became quicker and quicker, and so did their exchange of blows. Xemnas wielded two blades but Sephiroth had a huge advantage in range. They clashed again and again, parrying the other's attacks, charging at them, but neither of them landing a hit. They were evenly matched in close combat. Sephiroth and Xemnas simultaneously retreated away from each other. They knew that they had to step their game up.

Sephiroth did not truly care about Hollow Bastion. But he could not tolerate some meaningless existence to destroy the ground for his meeting with Cloud. And he was intrigued by Xemnas' power. Not even Cloud radiated an aura so powerful.

"_Meteor!_" Sephiroth called out, and a swarm of meteors appeared again. Xemnas put up his shield again, but this time it was a continuous attack. The shield burst from the impact of a meteor and Xemnas was hit by the explosion, thrown around in the air.

It was for Xemnas time to teach the thing a lesson. He reached out to the sky with his right hand and Sephiroth suddenly was engulfed into a sphere of darkness. "For darkness to attack me…is laughable…"

Sephiroth was suddenly fazed when inside the darkness an infinite number of glimmering bolts appeared. He covered himself with his large wing and tried to endure the attack, but an endless number of energy bolts hit him. Each hit was as painful as being poked by a needle, but a myriad of needle pricks was…

The attack let up, revealing that it had left Sephiroth pretty roughed up. He had underestimated Xemnas, but Sephiroth regenerated pretty quickly, much to Xemnas' displeasure.

"Bothersome…" Despite his better judgment, Xemnas charged at Sephiroth again, going in for a sword fight. Sephiroth did not hesitate and slashed at Xemnas, who evaded by rising further up in the air. Sephiroth followed. They rose higher and higher, exchanging blows, blocking each other's attacks just to separate again and ascend even higher.

They were close to the barrier now. They could both feel the immense magical energy radiating from it. And they were tired of fighting each other. Sephiroth surrounded himself with a storm of black feathers, each of them as sharp as his blade. Xemnas did not bother approaching the storm and instead moved back to aim well at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth made his move first. "Come, Heartless Angel!" He concentrated on Xemnas' existence. He could feel it. The empty shell. The complete lack of emotions. The cold, calculating nature. He was a truly intriguing being.

"_Twilight Paradise!_" Xemnas was much calmer than Sephiroth, but he was still in the middle of a fight.

A slow, almost invisible energy flowed from Sephiroth, trying to grab Xemnas. Like a wild beast with tentacles and many arms.

And Xemnas started radiating a brilliant white light. The shapeless, invisible energy pressed against the glimmering white. Neither side retreated. It was a contest of pure energy, distorting the air and causing large-scale turbulence all around them. The air temperature rapidly fell and the darkness started to surround them. Sephiroth seemed to have the upper hand, as the energy was slowly surrounding Xemnas, but the white light protected him and was extending ever so slowly.

The air trembled when Sephiroth and Xemnas both decided to exert their full power at the same time. Darkness mixed with twilight. The Heartless Angel merged with the Twilight Paradise. The energy could no longer be controlled by them. The rampaging attacks merged and went out of control. A massive beam of darkness mixed with twilight hit the barrier above them and descended to the ground, blasting an enormous hole in it. Sephiroth and Xemnas were engulfed in a massive explosion when the energy went critical. Inside the blast, Xemnas and Sephiroth charged at each other one last time.

The barrier above them shattered with an ear-piercing sound, like a myriad of glass windows had just been shredded to pieces. The magic itself rained down on the town. Pieces of the barrier hit Hollow Bastion like small meteors. The town was ablaze in a matter of seconds. And far above it all was Xemnas, victorious amidst the sea of flames and black feathers.

It was time to put an end to this game. He lifted his hands up in the air, and like a ripple, a white shock wave slowly extended from his hands until it covered the skies like a man-made aurora.

"_Enter._"

- Valiant Hearts -

Demyx saw the barrier shatter while he was still on his way up to the top of the castle. It must have been the doing of the Superior.

He finally reached the top and found his enemies, the three summoners. He had taken way too long to reach this far up, but there really had been no choice. He had been under heavy fire from some kind of artillery and was forced to take a long detour around the back of the castle.

Demyx had only shown his face for a mere second when they attacked him. He had no time to put up a barrier and barely managed to ascend high enough to avoid the deadly blast of magic. The woman he had already battled once, a brunette with her hair in a braid, had made the shot. If Demyx remembered correctly, she was the one who had killed Marluxia.

"Aerith, Garnet, leave this to me. Go and evacuate everyone from the town." Rydia had cast a strong healing spell on herself. It would only help her temporarily, but it would last long enough to buy Aerith and Garnet some time. Rydia walked towards Demyx, who floated several meters above the platform, confused as to what was going on.

"_Horned Beast from the Inferno of Hell!_"

Rydia summoned Ifrit, whose massive shape appeared in front of her, growling and staring at Aerith. She pointed at the other two. "Bring them down."

Ifrit grabbed Garnet, but Aerith refused.

"I'm staying with you. I know this guy. He's strong." Aerith stepped forward and took Rydia's hand. "He's tricky. Watch out. And don't summon any water creatures," Aerith whispered. She watched Ifrit leave, jumping down, with Garnet in its hand.

"I always get the worst jobs. Time for a little dance!" Demyx pulled his sitar from his back and played a quick tune. "_Water Control, Eternal Fountain!_" He shouted out, and…nothing happened.

Aerith and Rydia lost no time. Aerith attacked and Rydia stepped back, lending Aerith some of her magical energy for a big spell. Aerith was going for the kill right away.

"_Ultima!_" Aerith shouted, pointed her hands in Demyx's direction, and unleashed the deadly blast of green energy.

But Demyx was not hit. A water fountain broke out from the wall of the castle, wound itself up like a snake, and served as an ever-moving and growing platform for Demyx. He ascended higher and higher into the sky while the two summoners were left below on the tower.

"We won't be able to hit him like this!" Rydia turned her hand to the sky and wrapped her other arm around Aerith. "Hold on tight. _Bahamut, come!_"

From the clouds emerged the majestic lord of dragons, Bahamut, one of Rydia's strongest eidolons.

Rydia started running, pulling Aerith with her, who was not very thrilled by the thought of what Rydia was trying to do. Rydia jumped off the tower at full speed, together with Aerith. They were in free fall for a few seconds before Bahamut caught up with them, but they landed safely on its back.

"I'll handle transportation. You fry that guy!" Rydia had a very serious and dangerous side to her when she was fighting and it was not one of the wisest things to challenge her. If it came down to just eidolon control, Rydia was the superior summoner by far.

Bahamut ascended high into the air with the two sorceresses on its back. While Rydia was able to keep herself steady on the eidolon's back with her magic, Aerith didn't have that ability and instead held on tightly to Rydia. Demyx was already preparing his attack.

A multitude of water beams emerged from the massive snake-like pillar, trying to hit the quick and agile Bahamut, who avoided all the hits by sinking and ascending randomly. Demyx then played a more powerful chord and the water beams stopped. They were replaced by massive claws on thin, frail water arms that reached out from the pillar.

"We need to get closer!" Aerith said, and blew some of Rydia's hair out of her face. The two were holding onto each other tightly now. One hand had to be enough to fight. At least she had most of Rydia's magic energy at her disposal.

"_Firaga! Firaga! Firaga!_" Aerith launched a whole volley of explosions at Demyx, who created eight turning rings of water around him for protection.

Bahamut took a quick turn and flew right past Demyx, who watched with gritted teeth as Aerith aimed right at him. "_Ultima!_"

The massive energy blast destroyed all eight rings and the upper part of the pillar, but Demyx had escaped into the pillar itself, surrounded by water.

"Buy me some time!" Aerith told Rydia, and Bahamut abruptly stopped in mid-air before taking a sharp dive down and spiraling around the water pillar that attacked him again with beams and claws. It was growing larger by the minute.

"Let those fools feel my divine anger…" Aerith began to recite a spell and could feel Rydia hold on to her more tightly for a brief moment. They weren't exactly in a situation where they _should_ be doing what they _were_ doing.

"…and turn them to ash! _Thundaja!_" A dozen of massive bolts streamed from Aerith's hand and ran through the water pillar, shocking Demyx violently and without mercy. The water pillar suddenly branched into dozens of smaller pillars, forming a labyrinth in the sky.

A labyrinth of water lines. If they hit one of those, Aerith knew it was all over.

Bahamut ascended high into the air and Aerith decided that she had to end this before Rydia ran out of concentration or physical power to keep her steady.

"The one…the four…the eight…the sixteen…"

Aerith was preparing for a massive attack that could easily take out a whole division of enemies. Rydia flinched the second her partner started the incantation. The Sorceress Pact was still dangerous. Aerith was using too much magical energy.

"…all of them sworn to me, serving me! To rule them, to command them…"

Bahamut had to take a dive again and continued to take sharp turns. Rydia gritted her teeth and tried to hold on to Aerith as tightly as possible, but it was hard since she wasn't exactly a strong fighter. If only Tifa were there with them!

"…is my will and my will is destruction…"

Rydia coughed suddenly, tasting blood. She could feel her concentration fade. If this didn't end the fight, they had to run. She couldn't keep this ridiculous act up any longer.

Aerith jumped off Bahamut's back and aimed properly at Demyx. He was right in the center of her field of vision.

"_Ultima!_" Aerith exclaimed, and a much more massive wave of energy than before emerged from her hand.

The spell consumed everything in its path and reached the pillar Demyx was using as a platform. The water vaporized instantly and Aerith lost all sight of Demyx in the emerging mist cloud. She was falling quite fast but wasn't worried in the least about it. She simply held out her right arm for a few seconds and believed in her friend.

Rydia commanded Bahamut to dive almost vertically to reach Aerith, who had jumped off to avoid blasting Rydia and Bahamut to hell. She barely managed to grab Aerith's hand in time to tell Bahamut to spread his wings and avoid crashing into the city below.

"You're one mad woman," Rydia said, panting and standing unsteadily on the back of the eidolon. She commanded it to land on the big square in the residential district and jumped off together with Aerith. They had no time to confirm Aerith's kill, but it was unlikely Demyx had had time to escape in time or survive a blast like that.

"We need to get out of here."

Rydia had barely said those words when the building behind them exploded in a furious blast. Enemies, hundreds, thousands of them were invading the city and attacking everything in sight.

- Valiant Hearts -

She had felt something ominous ahead for some time now, and Kairi's worries were confirmed when she opened the portal.

The town was a battlefield. They had taken the portal to the back alley in the residential district and had come out in the middle of a battlefield. Hordes of Nobodies were attacking the town and people were valiantly fighting back.

There was no time to be surprised, shocked or ask long-winded questions. Kairi, Naminé, Olette and Yuffie became the target of the Nobodies right away and were surrounded in a matter of seconds. A huge explosion occurred not too far away and Kairi could see a dust cloud rising from the ground. Someone was fighting over there.

The Nobodies attacked all at once, jumping at them and trying to slash the girls with their long claws. Olette summoned a second Keyblade, jumped in the air and whirled around thrice, turning the Nobodies into pieces. But the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. "Where the hell are they all coming from?" she yelled.

Yuffie had risen high in the air and was fighting off any flying Nobodies that approached her with her shuriken. Her wings were proving to be useful, although they hadn't fully healed.

"Yuffie! Find Leon and report to him we're back!" Kairi shouted over the noise of the battle. Yuffie nodded, kicked one Nobody out of her way, and flew away, getting a good view of the true extent of how many Nobodies there were. Yuffie let her guard down for a second, frightened by the masses of enemies, and a Nobody used the chance to cut her back, making Yuffie scream. Kairi, Naminé and Olette intuitively looked to the source of the scream.

They were blinded the moment they looked up. A massive spell that Naminé and Kairi recognized as Ultima shot through the air and clashed with something that looked like a labyrinth of tentacles that came out of the castle tower. Kairi had no time to think, as the next wave of Nobodies was already coming.

"Let my soul burn with anger…_Fira!_" Naminé created a ring of fire right around them and the Nobodies jumped blindly in, burning to ashes in seconds. But no matter how many died, there were simply more and more with every second. Kairi could only conclude that the Nobodies were after them.

"We need to move!" Kairi tried to think of a safe place to run to until they knew what was going on. Running blindly into a fight of this scale was just suicidal. She needed more information.

Kairi knew that below them was an infinite labyrinth of underground passages from before the time Hollow Bastion had been built. She heard someone in the distance shout, but couldn't make out who it was. There were dead people everywhere, but she didn't exactly have time to worry about them now.

"Olette, the ground!" she called

While Kairi helped Naminé enforce the fire ring, Olette rammed her Keyblades into the ground, causing splintering cracks to spiral out around them. She took a deep breath, caught Naminé by the waist, and punched a hole in the ground right where they stood. The three plummeted downwards in a shower of concrete.

The impact from falling a few meters hurt a little for Kairi, but it was nothing to Olette, who had shielded Naminé from the force of the fall and was now carrying her like a princess.

"Don't ever leave my side. We need to move fast. Just stay like this, Naminé."

They were in a dark tunnel. Kairi glanced up and saw that the fire ring on the level above them had vanished. Nobodies were already approaching the hole. She tugged on Olette's sleeve and began to move.

"They're after us. We're going to use these tunnels to lure them into the canyon to protect the town. There are many secret passages we can use to escape after," Kairi explained while running. Olette kept up with her without any problems despite having her arms full of Naminé, who seemed oddly happy about being carried in such a manner.

"Aren't the Heartless the only ones after us?" Olette was not quite up to par all the facts.

"I thought so too. There must be a reason they're attacking like this." They took a turn left, shortly after one right, another left, and jumped down a series of ramps.

"How far?" Olette looked behind and saw the hordes of Nobodies following them like a white flood. They weren't fast enough.

"We need to follow this tunnel for a while. It's always straight ahead." Kairi knew that they weren't fast enough, but even so, Olette couldn't carry both of them without losing too much speed herself. It would be a futile exchange.

Another series of ramps followed and they could feel the air getting cooler. They were going deeper and deeper into the tunnels. Kairi had gotten lost once before and since then she had memorized most of them. There were deeper levels she barely remembered, but there was no need to go that way.

Naminé moved around a bit in Olette's arms and looked over her shoulder behind them. The Nobodies were catching up to them. But in a tiny and confined space like this, she had just the right means to make them struggle a little.

"Tell me when the next ramp comes up. And when I say duck, _duck!_" Naminé said quickly, and started a quiet incantation. Olette was not too happy about Naminé preparing a spell when she was carrying her, but Olette trusted her still.

"Jump!" Kairi had not missed the conversation between the two girls and gave an order. They jumped past three steep ramps, a total of at least two meters in height difference.

Olette and Kairi didn't have to wait for Naminé's command to duck. "_Eternal Blaze!_" Naminé pointed her Keyblade at the corridor behind them and a series of small fiery sparks flew right in the direction of their pursuers.

They were lying on the ground when a massive burst of fire pushed through the corridor above them and scorched the walls like they were made of paper.

"That should give us a little more time." Naminé was smiling happily when they got back up and Olette pulled her up and started carrying her again.

"Right!" Kairi shouted and instead of turning left, they had to turn around and go right. They took a sharp turn left afterward and followed the corridor past three branching paths

Naminé's spell had destroyed many of the Nobodies chasing them, but there were already Nobodies down in the labyrinth, a fact which was starting to complicate matters as they could now see Nobodies approaching from every direction except right in front of them. Kairi's plan had backfired. They were forced to go right into one direction now.

And then it happened. Kairi saw the white flood appearing in the distance right in front of them.

"Leave them to me!" Naminé aimed carefully and started another incantation. This one was more difficult than before. They were almost there and Kairi knew that it would be their demise if Naminé didn't have some kind of plan.

"To to lords of floods, Leviathan! _Tsunami!_"

Kairi turned around and stared at Naminé with a shocked face. She barely got to take a deep breath, together with Olette, before the magic water consumed them and drove them forward with incredible power.

Kairi grabbed Olette's hand, who in turn held on to Naminé as tightly as she could. The current was violent and fast and flooded the Nobodies in front of them completely away. Naminé had not managed to take in enough air and was beginning to struggle by the time they passed the blockade of the Nobodies. Olette saw no other choice and gave Naminé some of her own air directly.

Kairi saw the two girls next to her kissing but knew that Naminé had to be running out of air because Kairi was too. Naminé was a powerful mage, but apparently not the best planner.

Kairi knew the tunnel would go on for longer than they had air, so they needed a way out. She flailed her free arm, trying to get closer to the tunnel floor, while Olette held on to her other arm.

With all her power, Kairi rammed Oathkeeper into the ground and used it as break to try and get out of the current. Olette's and Naminé's additional weight plus the force of the current made her feel like her arm was being ripped out of its socket but she preserved. Olette couldn't help out because she was trying her hardest not to let Naminé or herself drown.

Another ramp followed, and to Kairi's luck, on said ramp was a small difference in height. A few seconds passed before the flood completely flowed through and they were left soaked, exhausted and panting heavily. Naminé and Olette were still blushing.

"Move!" Kairi shouted and saw their chance to get away from the enemy. There were a lot of secret rooms ahead and a whole complex of underground tunnels much more tangled up than those they were in now.

They had seen no sign of more Nobodies by the time they reached the entrance to the lower tunnels. Most of these were not on maps and hadn't been visited in ages. There was residential water from below in some of them, and Kairi was a little sick of water at the moment.

She carefully looked around and found what she needed—a small switch on a wall. Pressing it revealed a small entrance to a large and completely dark room.

"In!" Kairi jumped through and waited for Olette and Naminé to follow her. The entrance closed automatically seconds after they had all entered the room. They could feel the ground above them shaking and dust trickled from the ceiling. The fight above was still going on.

"Fire!" Kairi summoned a ball of fire from her Keyblade and used it as light to see in the room. It extended far into the direction they had come from and she could see a massive door on the other side.

"Kairi, about me and Naminé just now…" Olette was clearly bothered by kissing Naminé in front of Kairi, despite it being the only means to avoid having Naminé drown.

"Now is not the time, Olette. Also, you've done nothing bad." Kairi wasn't sure what exactly Olette was so bothered about. They both wanted to date Kairi, and Kairi agreed to it, so did it really matter if they kissed each other? Wouldn't they indirectly anyway if they both kissed Kairi?

Kairi shook her head, trying to get back on top of the situation. There was a full-scale assault on the town going on. There could be various reasons for it and each reason changed greatly what they should do next. Kairi had no way of gathering intel for now, so she went with the most likely reason Hallow Bastion was under attack—the Organization was trying to wipe them out for interfering with their plans.

"We have to assume that the entire Organization is here." Kairi turned and looked at Naminé and Olette sternly. "Tifa, Aerith, Leon and the others should know about us by now. Yuffie can fly, so she should be able to find them quickly. These tunnels stretch out over the entirety of Hollow Bastion. We will try to reach the central area, where a shelter is located." Kairi knew about the shelter that existed in case of such an attack.

"I hope Yuffie is safe," Olette said with a worried expression.

"She's going to be fine. I'm more worried about _us_." Kairi walked towards the door while the other two girls looked around, making sure there were no enemies inside the room. She couldn't help thinking out loud. "What kind of purpose do they have in coming here? And why _now_ of all times? I want to go out there and fight, but there is a distinct possibility that they are after us."

Kairi reached the door and pressed her ear to it. There was only silence on the other side. Kairi knocked on it and continued to listen, but she heard nothing.

Kairi turned her back against the door and sank to the ground. She really wanted to go and protect the people who were fighting but the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that her initial guess about the Organization being after them was right.

"We can open the heart to a world…we can open Kingdom Hearts. We are the only ones truly capable of destroying the Heartless. It would make sense for them to try and capture us or kill us."

"I don't like the idea of hiding while everyone else is fighting for our sake!" Olette protested but went quiet as soon as she saw Naminé's look. Kairi was suffering much more than she was in this situation. The people fighting were her family and friends, the people she wanted to protect at any cost.

"What do we do now?" Olette sat down in front of Kairi and rammed her Keyblade into the cold stone ground.

"I don't know." Kairi shook her head and tried to think of a solution. If the Organization was after the Keyblades, it didn't matter which one of the girls went out, as they would all be in danger. If they were after something else, it was bad to just stay hidden.

Furiously trying to come up with a solution, Kairi thought about all possibilities. It could be retribution for the attack on their stronghold, but it could also be simply an attempt to destroy all resistance and hindrances at once.

In the end, the possibilities that they were simply attacking to kill them all outweighed the possibility that they were here to capture a Keyblader. Kairi couldn't be sure, but there was only one way to find out. She jumped up and looked back at the door. It looked unmovable.

"Olette, open the door. If you need to, bash it in." Kairi looked determined to get moving and not waste another minute sitting around, doing nothing.

"Naminé, do me a favor and open this for me. I have no idea how thick it is." Olette stepped aside while Naminé readied a spell.

"_Fira!_"

The door was blown off its hinges and hit the ground with a deafening clanging sound that echoed through the room and the complex for several seconds.

"They'll have heard that," Kairi said. "_Move!_"

Kairi jumped through the open door and found herself in an equally empty room that was full of dust and heavy air. It took her a few seconds to spot the next door and this time she opened it herself.

"_Fira!_"

The door was blown away and another clanging noise echoed thorough the underground complex.

The second Kairi jumped out of the second door, something hit her brutally in the face. The force sent her flying right back into the room, where Olette caught her. Kairi quickly found that she was bleeding from the nose and the mouth. She spat out some blood. She had been hit like that before.

A dark shape was thrown right into the dark, dusty room and it shook violently for several horrible seconds before it seemed to reach out to the three. There was no doubt that it was a person.

"Took me a while to make her talk. But it was well, _well_ worth it."

A tall man, ostensibly the owner of the voice that just spoke to the girls, stepped into the room and kicked the person on the ground out of the way.

"R-run…" the person whimpered, and from the voice it was clear that it was Yuffie, badly wounded and almost unable to talk.

"Oh no, you won't. Not this time!" Luxord let out a sadistic laugh and one of his huge cards covered the door he had just passed though. "This time, you will not escape, little pests."

Without warning, Luxord vanished and appeared right behind Olette, who simply threw Kairi to the side and crossed her Keyblades in a protective way right in front of her face. The impact of Luxord's punch caused the ground Olette was standing on to crack.

Malicious laughter was heard when he vanished again and Naminé was suddenly flung to the side, stumbling against the wall.

"Naminé, take him down!" Olette shouted and spotted Luxord, who had appeared close to the wall and was just about to hit Naminé again.

But he didn't get to. Olette jumped right at him.

She dropped her Keyblades, grabbed the back of his head, and rammed his face with full force into the wall before she pulled him back and slammed him into the wall two more times. The thick stonework gave in from of the impact and began to crumble, but Luxord didn't get time for a breather. Olette was completely merciless when it came to protecting Naminé.

Olette let go of Luxord for just a split second before she grabbed his left arm with her other hand and kicked him with full force. There was a loud cracking sound and Luxord screamed in pain. Olette had broken his left arm and now she was twisting it violently, trying to rip the limb out of its socket.

Luxord clenched his teeth, ignored the burning pain in his arm, turned slightly and swung out right into the violent girl's face.

"_Monster,_" Luxord spat. He swiped at his face, trying to get blood and dust out of his eyes.

Olette covered her face with her hands while she writhed on the ground in pain. Her nose was broken and she thought her jaw was too. A normal human would probably have died on the spot.

Luxord held his arm up and watched as it slowly bent back into a normal shape. The pain was decreasing. He had full access to his abilities, unlike his copies.

He turned around to deal with that annoying caster girl who had caused massive problems the last time around, but then jumped back on a hunch as Kairi's razor sharp swing missed his neck only by centimeters. He would have literally lost his head if he had not moved in time.

Kairi turned on the spot, swinging at Luxord again, who was forced back from the wall into the middle of the room. He suddenly felt something grab his ankle and as he looked down he saw the bloody face of the girl he had thought he just knocked out cold. She was unable to get up, but he couldn't shake off her grip.

Kairi swung again and sliced deep into his shoulder. Blood splashed from her blade. "_Fira_!" Kairi cast the spell right into the deep flesh wound and Luxord screamed out in pain yet again before he furiously hit Kairi, sending her flying across the room.

"_Enough!_" Luxord's voice was so loud that it was deafening. He vanished right from Olette's grasp, appeared for a split second right above her, smashed her in the stomach, then vanished again. He appeared a few meters away and unleashed black whips all thorough the room, destroying walls and ground alike.

"Do it _now!_" Olette yelled and Luxord's attention was drawn to the girl in white who sat hidden back in a corner.

"…to lock even time and space away…Cel—"

Naminé was unable to finish her spell. Luxord, his face distorted in hate and rage, was right before her and slammed her into the ground so hard that Naminé's light body bounced back up a few centimeters.

Olette was back up on her feet before she realized she could barely see anything. She was bleeding heavily from her forehead and the blood was running right into her eyes. Luxord attacked her again and Olette met his punch with all of her own power. The collision of the two almost equal forces broke Luxord's hand and severely injured Olette's.

"Filthy beast, die already!" Luxord jumped back and overcame the pain in his hand to draw a card Olette had not seen before. "_King of Spades!_"

Kairi only saw how Olette started to bleed from several deep wounds all at once without any attack actually happening.

Luxord coughed up and spat out a large amount of blood before he turned to the last remaining Keyblader. "_Your turn._"

His voice was so full of hatred that Kairi felt a chill run down her spine. But she wouldn't give up. She was the least injured of the three and Luxord had already taken significant damage. If only she could get a clean cut in and take off his head…

But the two had no chance to conclude their fight. The entire ceiling suddenly collapsed and caved in under a massive ball of light that blinded them. Kairi tried to jump back but was grabbed by the throat by a bloody and deformed hand.

"_Die._" The hand tightened its grip and Kairi could no longer breathe. The grip got tighter. He was trying to break her neck.

"And now, at last! Revenge is mine." Kairi could only hear that one sentence before she passed out from lack of air.

"Don't forget about me," someone whispered, and he recognized the high-pitched voice from somewhere, but he had no time to ponder about it.

Yuffie slashed his hand right off his arm and rammed a lightning materia right into the wound, having previously set it up to self-destruct. Luxord was shocked so brutally that smoke rose from his skin and he collapsed to the ground.

Yuffie grabbed a small flask from her bag that was filled with a deep purple liquid, but Kairi was unconscious and her body refused to swallow the liquid. Yuffie had no other choice but to sip the liquid herself and forcefully give it to Kairi. The girl would die for sure if she didn't. She couldn't even think about it as a kiss of some sort.

Kairi started to cough and turn over on the ground, having barely escaped death. Yuffie moved over to Olette and gave her the elixir the same way she had with Kairi. Olette was in considerably worse condition, but she was tough and a quick healer.

Naminé was by far in the worst condition. Even with the elixir, she wouldn't be able to move. Yuffie could tell. Her arms were twisted unnaturally below her body and and her face was almost dented in. It was painful to just look at. Yuffie had suffered at Luxord's hands, but he had beaten Naminé almost to death.

Even after being fed the elixir, Naminé didn't wake up. Her heart was beating, but her breathing was weak. It had been a close call for her, much closer than for Kairi and Olette.

That used up all of Yuffie's elixir. It would take over a month to brew more. They couldn't take another beating like that.

Kairi was already up on her feet, looking around. "Yuffie! Where is he?" Kairi started to shout and furiously look all over the place. "He's gone!"

Yuffie looked at the spot where he had last seen Luxord and indeed, only the burned ground was there. His corpse was gone. But she was sure the lightning materia had killed him. No living being could survive an internal shock like that. His brain and all his organs should have been fried.

"We need to get out of here. _Now!_" Olette shouted, having a bad premonition. The air was thick with energy and something malicious. There was no doubt that they weren't out of danger yet.

Olette grabbed Naminé and carried her while Kairi and Yuffie joined her side, following her right out of the room through the hole in the wall. They didn't bother making any detours to follow the labyrinth.

Kairi took over carrying Naminé while Olette simply made a way through the walls with brute force. They reached fresh air after a few walls, where they saw the full extent of the invasion. The sky was like a white river, countless numbers of Nobodies flying around. The ground was no different but people were fighting valiantly against the intruders.

Leon was barely twenty meters away from them. He had already spotted them and was making his way over to them through a sea of Nobodies. There was no need to explain everything in detail. Kairi laid Naminé down and took her weapon. Olette and Yuffie provided cover while Leon explained the most important bits to Kairi.

"Unknown purpose, countless numbers. Canyon cut off by Heartless. Multiple Organization members, presumed five plus. Retreat and healing point is Rydia's place. Elixir in stock, _do not cut corners_. Retreat before you suffer lethal damage." He made no break and shoved Kairi out of the way of a massive wave of Nobodies pushing for them.

"_Circle of Fate!_" Leon unleashed a limit attack and destroyed everything twenty meters in front of him. "Stay clear of the sky and the southern districts!" He aimed his blade at the sky and shot a single fireball up that exploded far above the town. A signal.

- Valiant Hearts -

"Ye who sleep in a land beyond our own…"

"…ye who rule over a darkness beyond the darkest pitch…"

"…ye who reign over terror and fear…"

Aerith, Rydia and Garnet were standing inside a massive circle burned into the ground, a makeshift summoning place on top of the eastern wall. The Sorceress Pact granted them the ability to freely call upon extremely powerful eidolons otherwise unavailable, but they had to stay close to the point of retreat, which was now guarded by a powerful magic shield cast by Penelo and reinforced on the ground by Basch, Ashe and their men. Without elixir and aether, they had no way to continuously summon eidolons.

"…to thrive upon our power…"

"…to grow upon our hate…"

"…to bring forth destruction upon our enemies…"

The three made up a smaller circle inside the magic circle, holding hands and concentrating, each of them saying only one line of the recitation at a time. Aerith was always the first, followed by Rydia and then Garnet.

"…we call upon the king of evil…"

"…we call upon the emperor of the slumbering dark…"

"…we call upon the lord of unspeakable terror…"

The magic circle started to glow in a dark light and they could feel their magic power literally being sucked right out of them. Over a hundred meters in the air, right above them, was a second magic circle, where the energy was being collected.

"..come to our land…"

"…come to our kingdom…"

"…come to our world…"

They finished up their recitation and each of them knelt down and slit the palm of their left hand on a dagger that was stuck in the ground. This particular eidolon required a sacrifice of blood from their summoners.

"_Diabolos__!_"

The magic circle in the air started to condense the energy until it was just a gigantic black orb. The aerial forces of the Nobodies attacked the orb to no effect.

With a sudden movement, a group of enemies was grabbed by a monstrously long arm and pulled inside the orb. Slowly, two arms and legs, two monstrous wings, and a horned head emerged from the orb. The eidolon was at least ten meters tall.

"_Bring destruction upon the white plague!_"

His three summoners' command was something he was very pleased with. His wings spread wide and his claws hit the helpless enemy before him like they were flies before a lion.

A helper, someone who was in charge of keeping the summoning battery going, gave Aerith a condensed aether, a drink specifically made to replenish magic energy. Although the taste was beyond disgusting and there were strong side effects from it using too much, it wouldn't kill them to use it, and it would keep them fighting.

Diabolos growled as he was swarmed by the Nobodies, but they barely fazed him. He flew right on top of the observation deck and looked down at the chaos beneath him. The streets were crawling with the white plague, the enemies of his summoners. He was not inclined to refuse their plea, however, as they had supplied enough magical energy to please him.

"_Dark Messenger_." His voiced roared thorough the city and the air as he formed a gigantic black orb in his hand, sucking up everything around him and even pulling enemies from the ground as it grew larger.

A massive number of Nobodies was crammed into the orb that was now ten times his own size. With a devilish laugh, he reduced the orb in size so that it fit nicely into his hand. With a single move, he crushed the orb in his hand, flipped back, and burst into small, black pieces of shadows.

- Valiant Hearts -

Tifa had witnessed the massive power of Diabolos from the south. She and Cloud were single-handedly destroying the intruders trying to enter the city from the incidentally not-so-well defended southern front. They had both taken serious damage before but they could keep going with the condensed potions the supporters had delivered. Tifa herself had three usages of elixir left and would fight until the last drop of it was gone.

Cloud was further ahead, amidst the masses of Nobodies, but Tifa could always tell where exactly he was. The splattering guts and bodies of Nobodies flying around helplessly before the swordsman were a clear indicator of his location.

Tifa stood on top of the town wall and spotted the signal that the eidolon was gone and the next summon was going to take a while. With a sharp whistle, Tifa fired another fireball far over the Nobodies to the south.

She knew right away that Cloud had seen the signal for their little maneuver. Tifa was going to put an end to the southern menace once and for all, although it was an incredibly dangerous plan. If someone from the Organization was still left in the southern army, it wouldn't work and she wouldn't make it.

A dust cloud approached the walls quickly as Cloud made his way back, simply cutting himself a straight path. He was covered in wounds and bruises, but kept moving, his face grim, until he was right below the city walls Tifa was standing on. He waited for her next signal.

"All or nothing…" Tifa clenched her fists and jumped down, keeping her legs stiff and ready to push everything she had into that one jump. Cloud was right there waiting and used his big sword like a catapult, throwing Tifa easily over fifty meters into the air. The stream of Nobodies was virtually seamless up to the horizon.

She was right above the middle of the enemy's territory when she got ready to unleash hell on earth. Tifa put her hands together to one fist and lifted her arms above her head. "Final…"

Cloud shot two fireballs into the air, a sign for the people in the city to hold on tight for what was coming. If Aerith and company were devastating the skies, Tifa was the one reason to fear damage from below.

"_Heaven!_" Tifa landed in the middle of the Nobodies and smashed the ground in an earth-shattering explosion with a combined ultimate limit attack. Not a second passed before the earth itself gave in under the tremendous force. The attack itself shook the ground like an earthquake. Cloud saw parts of the walls crumble as the entire city shook like jelly. But that was not the true gist of the attack.

Tifa pulled one vial from her girdle and gulped it down in an instant and felt her energy return. "One more. _Final Heaven!_" Tifa hit the ground again, and this time it literally broke apart.

A hole in the ground, stretching over the entire south, broke apart the city from the rest of the world, opening a bottomless abyss. Countless Nobodies fell down to be smashed to pieces by the endless fall and the razor-sharp rock walls.

Tifa downed another elixir to overcome the pain in both her mind and body before looking at the roughly two-hundred-meter-thick mass of enemies between her and the city.

This was going to be rough.

- Valiant Hearts -

Olette walked, Naminé safe in her arms. Leon was further ahead, clearing the way, and some of Basch's men were looking for Kairi, whom they had lost in the chaos of Diabolos' attack and the earthquake.

Olette had no time to just stand around and wait for her to return. Kairi could look after herself and once she brought Naminé to safety, Olette would join the search for her.

The retreat point was so heavily guarded that Olette found it to look more like a fortress than anything else. Basch, Ashe, and Penelo, along with over a hundred men armed to the teeth, were positioned all around the house that had been remodeled into a field medic station. People were receiving potions and aether at the entrance and most of them headed right back into battle. It was an all-out war, and Hollow Bastion was prepared.

Leon started giving new orders the second they arrived. Ashe took care of Naminé while Yuffie went to help with the distribution of supplies. Potions and aether were easy to produce and they had a large supply, but elixir was rare and mostly given to the top fighters and the critically wounded.

Olette grabbed two vials of condensed potion and stored them in her pockets before she headed off to look for Kairi.

Knowing Kairi, she was in all sorts of danger but not giving up. It bothered Olette that despite the elixir, her face had looked quite demolished from the fight with the Organization member, but it was not the time to worry about such things.

Olette passed a few streets and smashed her way through the enemy with brutal force, knowing that their claws would barely hurt her more than scratches. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and the ominous feeling from before was coming back again. Something was off.

She quickly learned what. Up in the air was the man they had fought in the tunnels. His face was distorted from injuries and one of his hands was missing, but he seemed very pleased with himself. Olette had no way of attacking a target that high in the air, so she chose to ignore him. Leon must have already taken counter-measures.

Olette was turning a corner when an explosion destroyed a nearby wall. Dust rose in the air and reduced visibility to zero. The Nobodies were barely bothered by it, however, and Olette felt them approaching.

Slashing the ground with Circle of Life, Olette unleashed one of her special attacks. "_Devastation!_" Rock shards flew in every direction and killed every enemy in and outside her immediate field of vision.

But something was _wrong_. It hit Olette like a blow to the head. No more Nobodies were approaching. The feeling of threat was vanishing. The Organization was retreating! But why now?

Olette got up and looked around the area, walking through the nearly impenetrable dust cloud. "Kairi! Answer me! _Kairi!_"

Olette walked around for over ten minutes before the dust cloud finally settled down and offered a view to the area that had been hit by the explosion. A large chunk of the ground was gone and many had been killed in the attack. Olette was sickened by the extent of the destruction.

The area had been turned into a crater full of people half buried in ash and debris. Olette jumped down, fearing that Kairi might have been caught up in it.

She couldn't find any survivors. The faces of the bodies were pale and cold, their hearts no longer beating. Everyone who had been in the zone of the explosion had been killed instantly.

"_Kairi!_" Olette continued shouting, but to no avail. No matter how much she looked, Kairi was nowhere to be found.

End of Chapter XXVII


	28. Silence and Fear Aftermath of Nothing

**Valiant Hearts II**

Chapter XX-VIII

_Silence and Fear - Aftermath of Nothing  
_

"Report." Leon stood in front of a window, four messengers lined up behind him. He needed an overview of the situation. He was using an old empty house as a base in order to collect information about the situation and the battle.

"They've withdrawn for now, but we're surrounded. The army to the south is cut off from the rest because of the canyon Tifa artificially created. But there are large troops to the west and the north. The Heartless blockade to the east is increasing in strength was we speak," the first messenger reported.

"What about our forces? How are we holding up?" Leon was not in the best condition himself, but at least they had not been entirely unprepared for an assault.

"We still retain a large supply of potions and ether. Elixir is being reserved for critically wounded, but even so, we don't have much left. But…sir, our troops cannot go on. They've all fought against overwhelming odds. They're exhausted. Some of the mages can barely walk. The three summoners are unconscious right now. Most of our group leaders are in similar situations."

Leon knew that they couldn't defend against another assault. His most valuable troops in this war were Tifa, Aerith, Rydia, Garnet, Cloud, and the Keybladers. "What about or attempts to contact Castle Disney? What about backup from Traverse Town or the rest of this world?"

"We're unable to establish a connection anywhere. There's interference we've never seen before. Cid is working on it as hard as he can, but for now, we don't have contact with anyone. We're on our own. I'm sorry." The third guard lowered his head. They all had nothing but bad news.

"What about the search for Kairi? Any clues? And how are Olette and Naminé?"

"Naminé hasn't woken up yet, but Olette has joined the search parties for Kairi. They've been at it for hours, looking everywhere, but so far, no success."

Even in this area there was only bad news to be heard. Leon was not sure how to proceed from where they stood.

They were far, far outnumbered by their enemies. No matter how many they killed, burned, electrocuted, or froze, each enemy was replaced by two more. It was a war of attrition already. And it was hard to make new items under these circumstances.

Leon looked to the single guard and messenger standing at the exit of the main room. "Call Olette. You four are dismissed. Next status update in two hours."

The guards nodded quickly and walked off without a word. There were no useless formalities, no questioning motives or reasons. The people of Hollow Bastion were all well aware of the situation they were in. Being selfish or stingy might cost more lives, which in turn could cost one's own life.

Leon remained alone in his room, thinking. It would take a few minutes before Olette got word, so he could get at least a little rest. Even the strongest fighter got tired.

It was hard to organize troops. He had done it before, in his past. But now things were different. The enemy was not human. They did not get tired. And they were simply out to exterminate the people of Hollow Bastion. They didn't make any demands. Leon had fought hard battles before, but never one where the enemy was just a number that kept increasing.

A brief knock, and Olette walked into the room. She was bandaged heavily, and she wore an eyepatch over her right eye. Other than that she looked all right. She seemed to take after Tifa; the two of them were very durable.

She didn't wait for a greeting. "What do you want, Leon? I was searching for Kairi!"

"You can operate the Keygates, right? We can't withstand another assault, so we need to make evacu—" Leon didn't get to finish his line.

Olette stomped on the ground so hard that the whole room shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. "I am _not_ leaving without her! Don't even think about evacuation before Kairi is back!"

There was a crazy tenacity in Olette's voice, one that told Leon he should not question her dedication to finding Kairi. But the girl had to see reason.

"The enemy could have her already." Leon could see Olette trying to restrain her anger. She knew better than to start a fight with Leon in their current situation.

"We can't be sure of that! I'm going to look for her until I have turned every damn stone upside down!" Olette shouted. "I refuse to believe Kairi could get captured that easily!"

"We know almost nothing about their plans. We're in no position to strike back. It's likely we won't ever be. I know you're worried about Kairi, but don't be a fool. We're all just as worried as you are and not just because Kairi's a Keyblader." Leon still tried to reason with Olette. The girl was obviously desperate to find the girl she loved.

"So why are you talking like we're not going to find her?" Olette was still boiling inside, but tried to calm down by aimlessly walking around the room.

Her eye itched under the eyepatch, but she refrained from scratching it. Penelo, one of the people helping out with the medics, said she had almost lost her right eye and should keep wearing an eyepatch for the time being. For a physical fighter like Olette, losing one of her eyes would be a big blow to her abilities, so she was careful not to cause any damage.

"If we're going to fight back, we need supplies, weapons and most of all, help. I want you to take Cid and go to Traverse Town to enlist the help of the Moogles. We couldn't get a connection to them, but if we take a Keygate, it should work."

The Moogles were known thorough the universe as masters of crafts and talented mechanics. As one of the wandering races, they were almost never involved in wars and they could be found almost everywhere. The Moogles of Traverse Town had been in league with Hollow Bastion ever since Kairi's first journey to destroy Ansem.

"The Moogles won't fight, but they will be our support. There should be a Keygate to Traverse Town in the underground tunnels."

Olette just stood there, listening to Leon. What he said made sense. She didn't want to stop searching for Kairi. Not one bit. But she wasn't just on her own. She had responsibility now.

"Fine, Leon. I'll go and get help, together with Cid. But I'll go back to searching for Kairi the second we get back."

Leon looked straight at the brunette. She had grown up indeed. Olette was no longer the girl who was swept away by circumstances and lost control of her emotions completely, doing whatever she wanted. A life such as hers forced people to grow up faster.

"I'm glad you agree," he said. "I'm not sure Naminé is a good choice to send, so I need you to do this."

"I'll do it because we need the help. Even I can see we're not going to last long all alone. But I can't abandon Kairi. I absolutely can't. I hope you understand that, Leon."

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry that you have to go through all of this. Each of us has a burden to carry. I've carried mine a long way already." Leon looked grim.

"Kairi's burden is the heaviest of all. I've only known her for a while, and even though I love her, I can see how much she's gone through to get where she is now." Olette was not embarrassed in the least to tell Leon of her feelings. There was nothing shameful or bad about them. Nothing she had to hide.

"We can't carry her burden, but we can help her up when she falls. Please go and get Cid. He'll know which Keygate to use. We're running out of time."

"When did you start calling them Keygates? Where did that term come from?" Olette only briefly paused at the door. "Oh, never mind."

Things like that could be explained when Kairi and Hollow Bastion were safe, she knew.

Olette was almost run over when another guard entered the house, out of breath and his face distorted in horror. "It's terrible! The magicians have gone out of control!"

Those were the only words he got out before a deafening explosion literally blew the entrance and most of the house away.

"What the hell now?" Leon crawled out from under the rubble that had buried them. He, Olette and the guard had been protected by a still-standing wall that had been out of the way of the blast, but the rest of the house was a pile of debris.

Olette heard shouts coming from the street. They stumbled out of the remains of the house to find groups of people hurrying down the street.

"What is going _on?_ Report!" Leon yelled at the top of his lungs.

But there was no explanation needed. He could see it himself very well. A monster.

An amorphous blob of magical energy had risen in the distance, piling itself up higher and higher. It was now attacking everything around it with beams of raw, unformed magic and tentacle-like arms. At its core were Aerith, Rydia, and Garnet, connected by some kind of golden string.

An ear-piercing scream filled the air, originating from the blob. It was like some kind of grotesque demonic entity was screaming out in pain. Leon couldn't even begin to comprehend what sort of thing they were looking at.

"Don't let it spread! Attack it! Attack with everything we have!" Leon barked his order and grabbed his blade, but was stopped by Olette. "What are you doing? We have to stop them! They're completely out of control, don't you see that?"

"You're going to issue an order to kill them? Are you crazy? How do you even intend to fight them? You're much better than this, Leon! If even _I'm_ telling you to stop and think, then you're really losing your edge!"

Olette's words hit the bull's eye. Leon gritted his teeth and pulled free of Olette's grasp.

"Dammit. What happened?" Leon looked at the thing. It was slowly getting bigger and bigger.

"I don't know!" Tifa had finally reached them. Blood was running from her left shoulder. "Aerith suddenly started screaming in pain and Rydia and Garnet followed seconds after. It's gotta have something to do with that unity thing they did. Aerith warned me that something could go wrong, but this is much worse than I imagined."

The remaining few people surrounding the blob were not sure how to attack it. Cutting it did nothing, and blunt weapons bounced right off. Magic seemed to make it even stronger.

"What do we do?" Olette looked at Leon, knowing that he would pull through and come up with some sort of idea.

"Olette!" An unexpected reinforcement suddenly arrived at the three-person war council held on the leftovers of the temporary base. It was Naminé. "What's happening? Where's Kairi?"

"We don't know," Leon quickly answered, turning to Naminé. "How do we get them out of there? You're the strongest mage we have after those three. Do you know something?"

Leon was well versed in magic matters, but he was by no means an expert. He knew that Aerith and the other two had used something so they could summon greater eidolons, but knew none of the details.

"How did they get like that?" Naminé wasn't sure what she was even looking at. An experienced mage could tell that it was just raw magic, but magic usually had to be shaped before it left a magician's body—otherwise it just evaporated into thin air.

"The Sorceress Pact. I'm not sure on the details, really, but it lets them access each other's magic," Tifa said. She knew almost everything about Aerith and the topic had come up once before. It was the only thing that came to mind.

"I never heard of that before…" Naminé used to read books from the hidden library, but none of the books she had read mentioned something like it. "But I think I know how to get them out. That blob is just magic. If I cast a big spell and touch it, I'll drain it…I think."

"You _think?_" Olette wasn't exactly reassured by her choice of words.

"I've never seen anything like this, Olette!" Naminé defended herself, and looked at the blob. It suddenly shot a magic beam in their direction.

"_Shield!_" Naminé used a magic spell she had learned personally from Aerith. Raw magic formed a barrier and deflected the beam into the sky. The thing seemed to have no mind of its own. It was simply out-of-control magic.

"But what kind of spell would use up that much magic? I don't know shit about magic, but that looks like a lot!" Olette said, and pointed her Keyblade at the monstrosity.

"I could call something big, like Celsius. I've already done it once. I think I know how to do it now."

"You're not talking about the elemental king of ice, are you? You can't physically summon such a thing. Your body won't be able to handle it." Leon was not thrilled by the idea.

"I don't know many summoning spells yet. And that is a _lot_ of magic!" The blob was at least ten meters tall by now. "I don't know any more about this than you do. But I want to try. I want to save them!" Naminé was determined to not be a burden anymore. After being pummeled by the Organization, she'd woken up to find everything in chaos and countless people injured and dead. She couldn't stand not being able to help anyone.

"We don't have much of a choice. But how are you going to touch it? It attacks everything in…I would say _sight_, but that thing doesn't even have eyes." Leon was anything but happy about the turn events had taken.

"I'll get her close. I'm faster than anyone, and I'm not as injured as Tifa." Olette looked at her teacher, who had listened quietly while observing the blob. Olette could see the despair in Tifa's face. Her beloved was in there, and if they didn't do something, only God knew what would happen to her.

"Do it, then. But try not to cover the entire town in ice." Leon fired a single fireball in the air, gaining attention of all those who had not escaped yet. "Retreat! Regroup at point D-2!"

Underground. The surface was lost.

"So how do we do this?" Olette was curious as to what Naminé had planned. It was incredibly rare that the usually carefree girl took initiative like this.

"I need to touch that thing for the whole chant. Otherwise, it'll just eat my magic. Do you think you can keep it busy?" Naminé wasn't sure it was even possible to make the blob focus its attention on something. It wasn't alive, it was just a wild mass of magic.

"If it doesn't know we're there, it won't attack us. Right?" Olette had an idea of her own, but it was quite dangerous and would put a huge burden on herself. But she still felt like it was her job to protect Naminé. After all the chaos she had caused in the past, it was time to make it up to Naminé.

"Hold on tight." Olette wrapped one arm around Naminé's waist and jumped right in the direction of the blob, dodging a magical beam. They flew past other people. Olette jumped from debris pile to debris pile, getting closer to the atrocity.

"Did your breasts grow?" Olette could feel something groping her. It was quite obvious who and what it was.

"Now isn't the best time, Naminé." Olette slashed at one of the long tentacles, but the sword went right through it. It was useless to attack it physically.

Jumping high into the air, Olette aimed for a spot right at the edge of the blob where a lot of debris was piled.

"Hold on tight!" Olette shouted over the wind, and pulled herself and Naminé downwards, spiraling right at the mass of magic. "_Cross slash fire!_"

Naminé couldn't follow Olette's arm with just her eyes. Everything went dark for a second.

Olette knelt on the ground, Naminé lying right below, and the magic mass right above them. It burned Olette's back, but she endured the pain.

"Do it. _Now!_" Olette was strong and could take a lot of damage, but the magic went right through any protection and burned her skin like boiling water.

Naminé wasted no time. She stretched one hand out, right past Olette's face, into the magical mass. Neither of them bothered even a second with feeling embarrassed because of their position or that their faces were barely a few centimeters apart.

"_Queen of Cold, Empress of Solitude. One who freezes even time itself and halts the world. One who obliterates the flames of life and who triumphs even over Hell's Inferno itself_…"

Olette could feel magic seep into her. It was burning her from the inside. She was no mage, no sorceress. Magic was a foreign substance to her body, and she couldn't handle it. The magic that hit Naminé caused similar effects, so it was not just her who took damage, but only very little went through to the blond girl.

"_Come to my world! Come before my enemy! Aid me in my hour of need! Aid me in the direst time!_" Naminé tried to hurry, but there was no cutting corners with incantations. Olette was trying really hard to hide it, but she was in a lot of pain just protecting her from the magic.

"_Mistress of the northern world! Eternal enemy of Ifrit! Regent of Winter!_"

Naminé could feel that if she had tried to call an elemental king to the physical world with just her own power, it would have torn her to pieces. It was an enormous feat to just use their magic. Physically calling them was already one of the forgotten and forbidden arts.

"I can't…keep this up…much….longer…_Naminé!_" Olette was at her limit. She could no longer feel her legs or arms. She was only still kneeling because her body refused to fall.

"_A price of blood be paid for you! _Celsius!"

The magical mass shrunk at such a speed that Naminé feared the energy would not be enough. She would die after the spell took what magic it lacked from her life and the life forces of those around her.

But she was in luck. Aerith, Rydia, and Garnet hit the ground hard, unconscious and with severe burns on their skin, only a few meters away from where she and Olette sat.

Naminé was already feeling jubilant—but she rejoiced too early. Her face distorted in pain when she was confronted with the spirit of Celsius, a being so much higher than most eidolons that it seemed as overwhelming as an ocean submerging a single bucket.

Olette saw Naminé's eyes turn to lifeless marbles. The temperature of the air around them dropped so quickly that her breath turned to white clouds in seconds.

Olette had no energy to look above her, but she could _feel_ it—the eyes of something godly looking down on her, something so grand that the difference between them made Olette feel as insignificant as a worm. There was no doubt about it. Naminé had succeeded.

Those were the last thoughts Olette had before she lost consciousness to pain and cold and fell on top of the lifeless Naminé.

- Valiant Hearts II -

"So you _were_ after me."

Kairi stood face to face with the leader of the Organization. It was an overwhelming sensation—fear mixed with built-up anger and hatred. It didn't take a genius to figure out that there was no way to fight her way out of this situation. She was surrounded by countless enemies and facing the most powerful member of the Organization itself.

Xemnas faced her, slightly impressed by her determination. She held tightly onto that weapon of hers, not backing away, no useless attempts to run. The girl faced her destiny straight on. Judging by how she had figured out what the Organization was after, she surely possessed the intelligence to understand that the time of her death was approaching quickly.

There was no need to chain or restrain her. A single sign of magic, a single combat movement, and it was all over for her. He would tear her head right off. There were still two others left, and he only needed one of them.

"Xigbar."

A man passed through the ranks of hundreds of enemies and approached Kairi from behind. She could only see his blurry form out of the corner of her eye. An eyepatch. His hands scarred. His walk unsteady.

"The preparations are almost complete, Superior." Xigbar looked at Kairi with a smile that gave away the insanity behind his eyes. He was not looking at a human, at sentient life. From his perspective, it was an object of research, an experiment. Kairi believed firmly that one's eyes were a mirror of one's soul. There was magic research to back that up. But what she saw in Xigbar's eyes made her wish she did not believe in it.

Kairi had barely time to see a glimpse of movement before she toppled over, holding her stomach in excruciating pain. It was like she had just taken one of Tifa's punches at point-blank range.

Xigbar picked the girl up and carried her like a bag of flour, ignoring that Kairi spat blood while she was being carried. It was a wonder Xigbar had not crushed her entire stomach and doomed her to a slow death from internal bleeding.

She hit the ground hard, but it was not the dusty ground of the wastelands. Instead, cold steel greeted her face. She tried to look up, but Kairi found herself unable to move from the pain. It was incredibly difficult to just breathe, let alone move a single muscle. All her senses were directed at overcoming the pain and keep on breathing.

Someone—Kairi couldn't see his face—moved her arms and legs. She didn't need to look to know that she was lying spread out on the ground.

And then the pain came.

It was pain she had never felt before. It was not physical or magical; it was an attack for which there was no defense, for which there could _be_ no defense. Kairi could no longer see anything as blood started to run from her eyes and nose.

The pain was like an electric current running through her body, a current that was alive and eating her from the inside. It felt like millions and millions of things ripping her insides, taking her apart just slowly enough to not kill her outright. There was no resistance or limit. She could not endure it.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop—" Kairi's voice echoed over the heads of the enemies, only seldom interrupted by more blood that forced its way out of her mouth. She choked on it, coughing, only to scream more in blind terror as the pain drove her insane faster than anything she could have imagined.

She was going to die. Deep down, beyond thoughts and knowledge, in the deepest corner of her mind where only the instinct resides, she knew that there was no recovery. That there was nothing anyone could do.

Breathing became impossible after the amount of blood that tried to escape her body increased to a level where it clogged her throat and nose. The girl's body spasmed heavily, and then there was nothing. The eyes were red and blank, the heart stopped, the body ruined. The Keyblader Kairi had died under the torture of the Organization.

No questions had been asked. No demands had been made. It was a plain execution. That was the last thing Kairi had thought. _Just an execution_.

In reality, there was nothing heroic or glorious about death. No tales of bravery, no legends of courage and charisma. In war and in life, death meant to simply stop being relevant to the world.

While death is neither pretty or ugly, it certainly is cruel to those for whom it comes. And yet, even while circumstances may differ, it treats everyone equally. For they are all the same once they stop breathing. Kairi had experienced firsthand what it was like to come close to death multiple times.

And this one time, there had been no lucky coincidence or timely savior.

"How is it?" Xemnas walked past the corpse of the former Keyblader and stopped next to Xigbar, who was very displeased with the result.

"The girl's body died before the process finished." Xigbar turned to the _other_ steel plate on the ground. Before him was the product of his research—literally, the key to their goal. A girl with pitch-black hair and a body reminiscent of the dead girl next to her was lying on the steel plate, naked and unconscious.

"Wake her. Make her summon it." Xemnas' orders were absolute, but even Xigbar could not do the impossible.

"The body will take another two hours to stabilize. We cannot move her or wake her before then."

"Capture one of the other two. Take that one back with us and do the process over at headquarters." Xemnas was about to issue the attack order to his troops, when something unexpected happened. Part of the town exploded, torn aside by a gigantic ice crystal that grew so large and high that Xemnas knew someone was out of control.

"Send Luxord. Report back to me once the girl wakes up." Xemnas was most displeased with the results of their invasion. One of the girls had died during the process, which meant even if they caught the other two, there was still a strong chance they would end up without the key to their plans.

"Xaldin."

A man with a long spear in his hand appeared from amidst the troops.

"Go to the witch. Ask her if she can open the gate to Alas Marez."

A quick nod and an even quicker bow, and the man had vanished. It never hurt to have too many backup plans.

They had put up more of a fight than he had anticipated. It did not inconvenience his plans, but it made him think. For humans, they had some exceptional people in their ranks. Only a fool would think oneself almighty and disregard the abilities of the enemy. He should crush them right there before they became a real threat.

However, before he could finish that train of thought, Xaldin came back. Parts of his body were frozen solid. "We need to leave. Now."

Xemnas witnessed firsthand what it meant to confront one of the highest elemental spirits, beings so powerful that any one-on-one battle was absolutely insane and out of the question, even for him. Their one massive flaw and limitation, however, was that they needed tremendous amounts of magic energy to materialize in their world, so even if they did get called, they tended to vanish very quickly.

Celsius herself was on a rampage through the wasteland around Hollow Bastion. The town itself was frozen solid, and gargantuan towers of ice penetrated the sky and clouds. Someone clearly didn't know how to handle magic properly. The eidolon was completely out of control. Xemnas knew a fair bit about these things and Celsius was known to be particularly destructive—there was a reason she was the Lady of the End.

"Attack!" Xemnas shouted, and his powerful voice echoed through the plains. All those not frozen moved further towards the town where the rampaging eidolon was wrecking havoc. Ice crept over the ground, quickly hitting the first Nobody troops.

Xemnas knew that he could not handle a being like Celsius. Nobody could. Attacks would bounce off like toothpicks, and her ice could freeze even air itself if she so desired. He couldn't tell if it was a genius ploy to get him to retreat, or sheer madness on the human side of things.

The attack served to distract the out-of-control eidolon until the magic supply she had been summoned with ran out.

Xemnas, however, had miscalculated the sheer power of Celsius, Lady of Ice. Instead of playing with his pawns, Celsius flew straight up into the air and let out a series of wails that made even Xemnas feel shivers run down his spine. Spirits like Celsius had their own language, and even though he did not understand the words, he completely understood the meaning.

"Fools." Xemnas gave the order to retreat. He seemed almost indifferent.

Xigbar approached him quickly. "What about the girl? We cannot escape with her."

"Leave her. There are always other ways. She's not worth staying for."

A gate of darkness opened before Xemnas, and he stepped through. Xigbar only looked back once, towards the steel plate where his greatest achievement lay lifeless and about to be eternally frozen.

Celsius' wrath came about like nothing the world had ever seen.

- Valiant Hearts II -

The world around her was alien to her. She knew it was ice. She knew above her was the sky, and below her was the ground. She had a fundamental understanding of the world's elements and physics. But that was as far as her knowledge reached.

_Where am I? What am I? Who am I? How did I come to be here? Why am I here?_

She had questions to which there was no answer in the desert of ice around her. Her body revolted against the cold, urging her to seek heat. Before she knew it, she was hiding herself away in a dark coat.

She remembered nothing. But she knew what a name was—a word given to things of the world, things that existed. Ice. Earth. Sky. Cloth. Those were all names of things in her direct surroundings. But _she_ had no name. She was not part of the world. And yet she was there, sitting silent, alone in the icy desert.

Her voice refused to work, and so did her legs. She could only sit and wait, cold and alone. There was nothing bothering her. No confusion. No desire to find out anything. Her mind was a blank slate. Whatever happened around her did not matter. She saw no attachment to it.

A name. If she existed, if she was part of the world…

As she had no understanding of time, she just sat there, brooding. The sky went dark with clouds and white flakes started to fall. The part of the planet's cycle that was called winter had begun where she was. And she still just sat there, brooding. The snow piled up around her.

The ice stood proud and invincible in the face of the sun's power. Naked beneath her coat, she felt cold. Her legs finally obeyed her will, though her voice was still not functioning, she stood and walked.

She walked towards what looked like a gigantic ice block in the east. There was something nostalgic about it…

She never looked back to see the corpse of someone lying behind her. Someone who looked very much like her.

- Valiant Hearts II -

Olette and Naminé would have not survived Celsius' onslaught if not for Yuffie.

She could not abandon them. They had saved her from corruption. They had brought her back, forgiven her. Yuffie had never experienced kindness like that. And she was not about to let the people who saved her pay the ultimate price just so she could possibly live a little longer.

"I'm going back. I'll take them with me, or I'll go down with them. I can't do this, Leon. I just can't." Yuffie's voice echoed off the tunnel walls. She stopped running and stood there for a few seconds. "I used to have a crush on you. I was so sad when nothing came of it."

"What are you talking about?" Ahead of her, Leon stopped too, looking confusedly at Yuffie. What was wrong with her? "Yuffie?"

"I just wanted to have that off my chest. I know I'll probably die up there. The people need you, Leon. Go. I'll save Olette and Naminé."

Yuffie knew Leon would try to stop her. She moved and hit a button on the wall next to her. A heavy door slammed down between her and Leon. "I'll save them."

She turned and ran.

Yuffie could feel her lungs and nose burn as soon as she came close to the surface. Her breath escaped her mouth in large white clouds. The temperature was far below zero. Her eyes and skin started to burn badly when she reached the final staircase to the surface.

Yuffie almost fell to her knees when she saw the town. It was like a horrible winter storm had ravaged it. Houses were frozen over, flames burning from the battle had frozen solid. Her mind immediately jumped to what had happened to Olette and Naminé. Were they were still out there somewhere? Yuffie jumped down a wall and ran in the direction of where the blob had come from.

It only took her a few minutes to find them. They were there, but they were frozen solid in a block of ice. Even now, Olette was protecting Naminé, who lay beneath her. Together, preserved for eternity. Yuffie felt despair creeping up. Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"_No!_ Screw this shit!" Yuffie couldn't accept it. She _wouldn't_ accept it! Yuffie pulled a fire materia from her arm and threw it right at the ice block. The detonation blast of the materia shattered the ice, freeing its prisoners.

Yuffie checked their pulses. Naminé had a faint pulse, Olette had none. Neither of them was breathing.

"Goddammit. _Dammit!_" Yuffie cursed. She laid Olette down on the cold ground and slammed both her fists on her chest. "Give her back! Give her back!" Yuffie screamed, switching to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, just to switch back shortly.

Finally, Yuffie felt a faint pulse. Naminé's had not vanished yet and she too started breathing again after Yuffie performed mouth to mouth. They were both alive, but barely.

Yuffie knew that they would still die if they didn't receive medical help right away. She was barely able to stand and walk, but somehow Yuffie carried Naminé over her shoulder and pulled Olette by her arms, slowly trudging to the nearest underground entrance she knew.

Yuffie could barely see. The cold, the stress, the fighting and the exhaustion had taken their toll on her. And carrying two people in that state was hopeless. But she didn't give in.

Barely out of the cold now, Yuffie closed the entrance to the surface. They were in total darkness. It was a single room with no way out except for ventilation shafts above. It was one of her many hideouts, a place where she sometimes retreated to when she didn't want anyone to find her.

She walked through the room in the dark, knowing that her body was just about at its limit. She pulled a leather blanket that usually served as a makeshift carpet and covered herself and the two girls with it. It was the best she could do.

Unconscious as they were, Yuffie knew Olette and Naminé wouldn't be able to swallow any medicine normally. Despite the situation between them now, she had been in love with Olette, and she only hesitated for a moment before she decided to give the girl part of the last elixir she had the only way she could.

"Hate me if you must," Yuffie said quietly. She took a large sip of the elixir and put her lips on Olette's, forcing the healing liquid down the other girl's throat. Remembering the moments they shared, the happiness they had created for themselves together, Yuffie shed tears.

Olette coughed, but Yuffie kept her lips on Olette's and forced her to drink all of it—a third of the vial.

Naminé received the same treatment shortly after. In the darkness, Yuffie could not see anyway, but she had a feeling that even in the light she would not have been able to see anything. Her last conscious act was putting the last third of the vial to her own lips again and gulping it down, then passing out the second she had emptied it.

- Valiant Hearts II -

"Have you seen Tifa?"

Leon was asking around in one of the many shelters people were using underground. He had not seen her since Naminé and Olette fought off the blob. He had already asked practically every person who had escaped the frost above.

"She's not here, Leon. You should've known this would happen."

Ashe walked up to Leon. She was one of the most level-headed people in Hollow Bastion in crisis situations because of what had happened to her in the past.

"She would never abandon Aerith. I'm pretty sure she's been up there all this time." Ashe was sure that Tifa had survived. Nothing that could stop her from going to where Aerith was.

"Everyone's just doing whatever the hell they want. _Dammit._" Leon gritted his teeth. He could feel his anger maxed out. But most of it was directed at himself. So many people had died in the fight already. Then the catastrophe had happened. It was Rinoa all over again…

"I know how you feel, Leon. Have I ever told you what happened to Basch, Penelo and me?" Ashe figured that it was as good a time as any.

"I asked Basch a couple times, but he said the only one who should tell that story is you." Leon tried to let himself be distracted from how powerless he was right then.

"Our world was called Ivalice. In it, I was once queen of a kingdom by the name of Dalmasca. We were a small kingdom, caught between two warring empires of great power. But politics are cruel. Dalmasca became the warring ground for their fights. The people suffered a great deal. They were simple but good people. My king was killed in battle when he fought to protect his homeland to the north. A long struggle for me to reclaim my rightful seat of power followed. In the end, I ruled over Dalmasca, and the empires left us alone."

"Then _they_ came." Leon knew what it was like to beat out impossible odds, to overcome godly foes, only to lose to something that was more a force of nature than an enemy.

"I didn't know what they were. I tried to save my people, but all I could do was watch them die, taken by the Heartless. They were like a plague sent by the gods to punish us humans for our never-ending conflicts with each other. The people were terrified. There were millions of them, eating away the planet's soul, its heart. The world fell so fast that none of us had any chance. I still wonder if some of my friends survived. Penelo was lucky. She was with me when the attack happened. Basch was just outside the room. We stuck together and managed to arrive in Traverse Town together."

"You're telling him about our past?" Penelo joined the two, standing next to Ashe. "We met many people on our journey to help Ashe and Dalmasca. Almost all of them were lost. I was in shock for a long time after Ivalice was destroyed. I don't remember much. But I know this…" Penelo didn't look at either of them, her eyes fixated on the ground. "Even if you cut apart every single Heartless in the universe, they come back. I've seen them sprout from the heart of evil people. Without having their hearts taken, I saw people turn into those foul creatures. They're evil. If the Keybladers are the light side of the coin, then the Heartless are the dark."

"Have you ever told anyone your story, Leon?" Ashe was curious what kind of disaster the man of few words, one who almost never spoke of personal matters, had gone through to shape him into what he was now.

"I no longer have a story to tell. I left all that behind to live on. The only part of it I still carry with me to remind me of my past failures is this." Leon was reluctant to show it to others, but they had told him of their story, so he owed them this much.

He held out a small locket in his hand. Inside was a small photograph of a woman with beautiful black hair.

"She's beautiful. Who was she?" Penelo was the first to ask.

"The love of my life," Leon answered, and the two women before him couldn't face him anymore. They knew the pain he felt all too well. And they, too, did not want that wound to be reopened ever again. It was a feeling so horrible that one would think death could not be worse.

"Ashe. Get Basch and organize a search party. Surface stay is limited to thirty minutes at a time, two hours' rest in between. I have to assume a frozen hell is up there."

Leon wouldn't give up on the people who had helped him so much. He had failed to save his friends once, and he'd paid for it by leaving his past and his old self behind. He was no longer Squall. The only thing that remained of him was the locket with Rinoa's picture.

"Penelo, I'll leave you in charge down here. I'm going up with Ashe and Basch." Leon turned and left the shelter to traverse the underground corridors that connected the shelters below Hollow Bastion.

- Valiant Hearts II -

Tifa moved forward slowly. Aerith was on her back, Rydia in her arms, and Garnet on her left shoulder.

It would've been easy for Tifa to move around if not for the exhaustion and injuries from the battle. But she was not going to let them die. The three had been only slightly covered by snow, but their pulses and breathing were weak.

She had seen Naminé and Olette. They were enclosed in ice, forever preserved. She needed to save them. For the future of the universe. For the fight against the Heartless. With Kairi missing, they were the only Keybladers left. They were important to everyone. They had a mission.

But Tifa couldn't do it. She had chosen love over duty. Aerith meant the world to her. Tifa hoped that someone else would get them before it was too late.

It was a fool's choice. Leon would not understand. The other people would not understand. But to her, Aerith was more important than Tifa's own life. She had come to love the woman so much that she couldn't imagine living without her. To lose Aerith meant to lose her own soul, her reason for living.

Tifa didn't know any hidden entrances to shelters, so she had climbed all the way up to the castle. The walls were covered with thick sheets of ice and the big gate was frozen solid. It took more than she had left to open the big gate, and yet she prevailed, ignoring the screams of her burning muscles. Ignoring the exhaustion that made her vision blurry. Ignoring the pain that was running through her body.

Still carrying the three of them, Tifa made it all the way up to the library. The windows were frozen over, but it was not as cold in there.

After laying them down close to the chimney, Tifa could barely lift her arms anymore.

"Fire…" There was a pile of dry wood in the fireplace that had escaped the frost by a miracle. Tifa hit it with a weak fire spell. The sound of wood burning and sizzling was the final nail to her coffin of exhaustion.

She fell in front of the chimney and lost consciousness, close to the warming fire.

- Valiant Hearts II -

When Olette slowly came to, her head was booming with pain and every single muscle in her body felt as worn out as an old rubber band. She only tried to move once, but the pain quickly made her sit still. She couldn't see anything at all, as she was surrounded by darkness as black as pitch. Her throat was too dry to speak, so she started feeling around.

Someone was right next to her. Olette could feel silky skin and knew instantly who it was just from the feel of the skin. She felt up and touched the face. Yuffie was there next to her.

Olette tried to remember what happened. The magic blob. Aerith and the others out of control. Naminé calling Celsius. After that, nothing. Yuffie seemed to be sleeping. Naminé. Where was Naminé? It couldn't be that Yuffie had only saved her…she wouldn't do that.

But the girl panicked and started to feel around in hope of finding someone else. There was only empty, cold space to her left. Olette ignored the flaring warn signals her body sent her and leaned over the sleeping Yuffie. She touched something soft and bouncy.

Feeling up, she touched the face of someone else. There was no doubt about it—Naminé was there. Olette let out a heavy sigh of relief.

She was startled when something cold suddenly touched her hand. The surface was like glass.

"Drink." Naminé's voice was soft and quiet, but she could speak.

Olette took the glass vial and took a sip. It tasted awful, like some sort of exotic juice. It was much too sweet and stale, but it remedied the dryness of her throat. "Are you okay?" Olette's first thought was concern for Naminé's well being.

"I think I am." Naminé leaned against Yuffie and felt around, looking for Olette's hand. Kairi was gone, they were in a pitch-black place, and she wasn't feeling very well yet. She sought comfort. Olette felt Naminé's hand on her leg and laid her own hand on hers.

They were silent for a few minutes. Olette thought Naminé had fallen back asleep, but that was not the case.

"You _groped_ me." Olette could have sworn that Naminé was grinning in the dark. Olette felt Naminé's hand withdraw, then heard noises from her standing up in the dark. What was the girl doing? It became rather obvious what was happening when Olette felt Naminé's hands on her face.

"It's so dark…" Naminé couldn't see where she was going. The blanket was lifted for a brief moment and a shivering Naminé sat down on Olette's lap, laying her arms around the brunette's neck and snuggling up to her chest. "I'm so happy you're here…" Naminé's voice sounded a little broken.

Olette had been close to Naminé, but what she felt now was a different kind of close. Why was her love life so complicated? She loved Kairi, so feeling that way about Naminé now just seemed wrong. The blond girl was like a sister to her. It wasn't _right_ to feel attracted to her now.

Olette blamed the situation. They had escaped death together multiple times, but this time had been even worse than before. They longed for someone to comfort each other, and Yuffie wasn't exactly a good candidate for that at the moment. Despite knowing all that, Olette laid her arms around the other girl, holding her close.

"I was so scared…I thought you'd die." Naminé closed her eyes, unable to see anything anyway, as she sought comfort in Olette's embrace. "When I cast the spell, I thought we'd both die. I couldn't control it. I'm sorry I'm so useless…"

Naminé was rarely depressed, but always coming short of what she aimed to do was very frustrating for her. She admired Olette for what she had achieved under Tifa's training.

"That's not true. If it wasn't for you, we would definitely be dead right now. There was no one else to stop that thing. Don't you ever say you're useless." Olette could feel the heartbeat of the girl on her lap. They were too close, _much_ too close.

"Olette…do you think it's wrong that I like you? Should I not care about you?" Naminé could sense when someone was uncomfortable with a situation. Whether it was Kairi or Olette made little difference.

"We've gone through so much together, it'd be weird if you didn't like me." It slipped Olette's mind that Naminé's standards were a little different from those of others. "Like" did not always just mean only being friends.

"Then it's okay to do this." Naminé's voice seemed to be really close. Olette couldn't see, but she felt her breath on her face, her silky skin on her own, and she realized too late what Naminé was doing. In the disguise of total darkness, their lips met, and Olette lost herself to someone she had until then only seen as a little sister.

Naminé led her on, her arms around Olette's neck, her kiss growing more passionate as the little that remained of Olette's resistance melted away at the touch of her soft lips.

It was like clouds had filled Olette's chest. She felt light, happy. It was a feeling she had missed, the feeling she had felt first when she had kissed Kairi, a feeling that seemed to be years in the past.

Her right arm moved around Naminé's waist, and she pulled the girl so close that there was no way to not feel the other's body. Her left hand moved up to Naminé's neck, gently keeping her locked into the kiss.

Olette wanted it.

Despite her better judgment, she wanted it. It would bring up problems with Kairi again, it would make everything complicated…but she still wanted it.

Naminé felt hot. She had not always felt this way about Olette. Not when they had been at Port Royal, not when they'd been stranded in the future. But soon after that, she had started to feel differently about Olette. Naminé didn't know what had happened to her. She loved Kairi just as much as before, but Olette had stolen her way into Naminé's heart. To Naminé, there was no choice. She simply wanted to be with both.

She knew that her way of thinking was different from that of the others, that she sometimes did things nobody else did. But she could not change that. It meant changing who she was. And so she simply longed to be with both of these girls.

Their lips finally parted, and the two of them panted, their faces brightly red unknown to all but themselves.

Olette shivered when Naminé's chilly hand slid under her clothes and moved over her stomach. "Naminé…" Olette wasn't sure she wanted to go that far. Not just not then, but at all.

While her feelings for Naminé had changed, she still felt like a little sister to Olette. She couldn't just forget about all of what happened and sleep with Naminé the moment Kairi was gone for a few hours.

"Wait…we shouldn't do this." Olette gently stopped Naminé's hand before the girl moved up to her breasts.

"Why?" Olette could feel Naminé's sad eyes looking at her in the dark. It was a question so incredibly simple but so very hard to answer.

"I like you, yes…but…sleeping with you wouldn't feel right. I'd feel like I was betraying Kairi." Olette had known for a long time that one had to really spell it out for Naminé sometimes. In a few aspects, she was like a child.

"So it would be okay if Kairi were here too?"

"I can't really answer that. I don't know. Some things you just don't know how to deal with until they happen." Olette felt like she was making excuses, but she wanted to stop herself from making another mistake. Hurting Yuffie, Kairi, Naminé and herself in the process of making the first mistake had been more than enough.

They both went quiet when Yuffie started moaning next to them as she slowly came to. "I feel…bad…" Yuffie could barely speak. She was hurting in places she didn't know existed, she was cold, and she probably needed a week or so of bed rest.

"You saved our lives, Yuffie. Thank you," Olette said.

Naminé dropped the subject under discussion before and simply snuggled up to Olette. In her eyes, at least, that much should be enough.

"Don't…thank me yet…" Yuffie tried to see, but she remembered soon why she couldn't. They were in one of her hideouts. "Is Naminé awake?"

"I'm here." Naminé's voice came from where Olette was.

"You were unconscious, so she didn't want to bother you." Olette didn't mention what they had been doing.

"We need to get out of here and back to the others. They're going to think we're all dead." Yuffie got herself together and stood up, only to find her legs were still asleep. She was forced to support herself with the wall in order to not fall over.

Olette waited for Naminé to get off of her lap, which took no less than a bit of pushing from the brunette. She didn't want to make things with Yuffie any worse than they already were.

Yuffie felt along the wall to find the panel to open the entrance. The light from outside blinded them. Snow had piled up in front of the hideout and blew in, almost burying Yuffie. It would be a harsh march back to Leon's underground base.

- Valiant Hearts II -

"Wake up…"

Tifa could hear a faint voice over the crackling of a fire. She had trouble remembering where she was and what had happened.

"Wake up, Tifa."

Someone shook her, and Tifa slowly opened her eyes. She looked straight up at the ceiling. She was cold, but not freezing. Her whole body ached.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Garnet sitting next to her. To her left and right were Aerith and Rydia. Both of them were still sleeping or unconscious.

Tifa tried to get up on her own but failed. Garnet helped her to sit up. There were pillars of books next to her, randomly pulled from the shelves.

"I kept the fire going. I'm sorry for the books. I tried to use unimportant works," Garnet apologized and looked at Tifa.

"Where…?"

"The library. You must have brought us here. What happened? Everything outside is frozen." Garnet looked to one of the large windows. It was covered in thick ice.

"You three went berserk," Tifa said bluntly. Beating around the bush wouldn't help anyone. "If not for Naminé, you'd probably be dead, all three of you. I really hope she survived. When I got you three out of the cold, they were encased in solid ice." Tifa wasn't hiding that she wasn't happy. "What did you do? What the hell did you do that made you lose control like that? I've never seen or heard of anything like it!"

Tifa was angry, not just with Garnet, but also with Rydia and Aerith. The fact that they would do something so dangerous wasn't going to help anyone.

"We didn't have a choice!" Garnet said defensively. She didn't take kindly to unfair judgment. "You saw them! The legions of enemies. We needed the power of powerful eidolons to hit them. So the three of us used the Sorceress Pact. We didn't know we could…what exactly happened, anyway?"

"You three had your magic sapped. It formed a giant blob that attacked everything, was immune to weapons and magic, and grew larger by the second. _That_ is what happened. And you're telling me you didn't know that it _could_ happen?" Tifa wasn't the best when it came to dealing with anger.

"How _could_ we? Magic isn't simple, Tifa, and you know it!" Garnet watched Tifa sigh and try to get up. "You shouldn't move, you're hurt."

"I can take this much. We need to wake up Aerith and Rydia. Has any of your magic come back?"

"Nothing. I can't feel anything from Aerith or Rydia, either. Whatever happened to us must have left some lingering damage. I'm sorry for what happened, but we had no idea it could get so out of control." Garnet didn't even want to imagine what Tifa would say when she told her the pact could not be broken. "What happened to make everything freeze? Did we do that?"

"Naminé did. I think she did, at least. It was some kind of monstrous spell that unleashed this frozen hell. Leon and the others escaped underground." Tifa felt worried for the Keyblader girls, but she was in no condition to go out and look for them.

She looked at the two unconscious women next to her. They were sleeping peacefully on what looked like a makeshift carpet of book pages. Tifa looked down at herself and found that she was sitting on a similar bed of pages.

"How are they?" she asked.

"Recovering. They were more hurt than me, especially Rydia." Garnet grabbed a few books from a nearby pile and threw them into the fire without hesitation. It was the only thing she could burn.

"Have you looked around or gone outside? Do you know what the situation is like?" Tifa was still exhausted, but she could stand. She needed to move some to get her body to wake up.

"I was busy keeping the fire going and making these." Garnet pointed to the paper beds. "Then I tried to wake you. You know the rest." She threw another book into the fireplace.

Tifa staggered to the window and marveled at how cold it was next to it. Outside she could see nothing but white. They were in the middle of a blizzard.

"This is terrible…the town is being buried under snow and ice. What in the world has Naminé summoned?"

"A strong ice eidolon, I think. Shiva. Maybe even Celsius…although that would be really bad." Garnet knew a lot about eidolons, just like the two other women next to her.

"Celsius? Isn't that the one next in line to be the Lord of Absolute Zero, Mateus?" Tifa only heard snippets of eidolon lore from Aerith. The most interesting aspects were always the forbidden ones.

"Mateus cannot be summoned. No elemental lord can. It would kill the caster and destroy the world. I don't even know if proper incantations to call them or their power actually exist." Garnet rarely bothered with any eidolons except the ones she could actually call herself.

Garnet walked next to Tifa and looked to see what it was like outside. "This is too severe to be Shiva. If this was really the work of Celsius, we can be happy we're still alive." Garnet was worried that it would get worse. The magic of an elemental king was very hard to undo.

"Can't you summon a fire eidolon and melt the ice?"

"No…unless you want us to summon Salamander so he can scorch the land. Ifrit won't be able to undo this. Our best bet is to wait and see what we can do when Aerith and Rydia come to."

Tifa blinked. In the blur of white, she thought she saw a dark shape moving outside. At first she thought it was a hallucination, but then she saw it move again.

"There's someone out there, walking."

"Where?"

Tifa pointed at the base of the castle. Someone wearing a black coat was walking through the snow and the cold.

"Isn't that…?" Garnet recognized the coat.

"Yes. An Organization coat. But I don't remember any of them being so small. And what would one of them be doing here all alone?" Tifa smelled something fishy.

"You're not thinking of going out and getting whoever that is, are you?" Garnet didn't know Tifa that well and didn't know what she was capable of.

"I want answers, and I know where I'll get them from." Tifa ignored her aching body and staggered towards the door.

"Stop, Tifa! You're crazy, you can barely walk!" Garnet grabbed Tifa's wrist.

Even though there were over fifteen centimeters of height difference between them, not to mention that Tifa was very well trained, Garnet managed to stop the martial artist. "You can't even pull free from me!"

Tifa didn't say anything and cursed under her breath. Hopefully, someone else would catch whoever was out there.

- Valiant Hearts II -

There is a theory that in some cases, extremely unlikely things are more likely to happen than they are not.

Surrounded by men armed to the teeth, the girl in the coat, freezing and cold, still unable to speak, was being questioned.

Ashe stood in front of the girl, her sword pointed right at her. "I'll ask you one last time. Who are you? Do you belong to the Organization?"

"If she makes one wrong move, shoot her." Basch issued a standing fire order. They wouldn't take any prisoners in case someone started to attack.

The girl couldn't see the woman in front of her very well, so she pulled down her hood to look at them. Curious whispers broke out among the men, and both Ashe and Basch didn't know what to make of the intruder.

"Your Majesty, she looks like—"

"I can see that, Basch. But it's not her." Ashe still didn't know what to do with the girl. She resembled Kairi so much that it was almost frightening. Except for her hair color, she was basically Kairi's double.

"Take her. We'll bring her to Leon." Ashe sheathed her sword and walked back.

What happened then was nothing short of a nightmare.

One of the men about to grab the girl by her right arm was suddenly missing his head. A fountain of blood sprayed on the men nearby for a few seconds. The girl had summoned a white Keyblade out of nowhere and had beheaded the man with a single, lightning-fast strike. What frightened Ashe was that the girl didn't even seem to know she had done it.

"Take her with force!" Basch yelled at the top of his lungs before Ashe could tell them to stop. The girl was obviously reacting instinctively from being threatened.

A dozen armed men tried to rush the girl in the cloak. Jumping right over the first man, the girl cut deeply into the next man's shoulder with her blade. The man fell to the ground, dead. Still in the air, she used her coat to block the bullets of the men who were now retreating from her.

She ran towards them, slashed the ground, and a thick layer of snow was thrown into the air, creating an unnatural mist.

"_Retreat!_ Do not attack! Retreat!" Ashe shouted, giving Basch a grim look. "We'll stop that thing. Move!" Ashe pulled her sword and shield just in time to fend off an attack. The girl had jumped straight through the snow. Judging by the red layer on the ground, she had killed at least another man.

Ashe was terrified. Not because the girl was fast or strong, and not because she had a Keyblade. She was afraid because of the absolute absence of emotion of any kind in both the girl's face and eyes. It was instinct. Pure instinct to kill the predator to survive.

The girl hit Ashe's shield and for the first time met resistance. Basch rushed at her and hit her with his spear in the side. The girl was impaled on Basch's weapon, but the man didn't stop. He threw the girl to the ground and attempted to stab her again, but he wasn't fast enough.

She jumped up and back. A large, gaping wound had been cut in her side, and the girl looked down at herself. She seemed to feel pain that was not from the cold for the first time. Ashe and Basch couldn't believe their eyes when the girl put her hand to the wound, trying to hold back the blood. A normal human would have been in shock from the pain.

Ashe didn't lose a second. She jumped at the girl and tried to slash her. Questions could always be asked later. Her slash was parried by the girl with ease, but the subsequent bash with Ashe's shield knocked the girl to the ground.

Basch came up right behind Ashe and attempted to stab the girl again. She vanished before his eyes. The next thing Basch knew, his left arm was a world of pain. She had failed to clearly cut it off, but there was a deep flesh wound in his upper arm.

"Basch!" Ashe was suddenly fighting one on one with the monstrous girl. How could someone so much smaller prove to be such a difficult foe?

The girl was only a few meters away from Ashe when she rushed the former queen. Ashe was hard pressed to just defend against an onslaught of varied attacks—a vertical slash, a horizontal slash, snow kicked up in her face, followed by another series of slashes. She was forced to retreat backwards.

She was losing in speed and in power to a mere girl. Ashe looked at the lifeless eyes. No, this was no girl. This was some kind of monstrosity that was not human. The girl fought without any sense of battle tactics or skill. Pure, cold survival instinct.

The girl did a rotation attack and Ashe took it, sacrificing her shield to grab the girl's sword arm. She kicked against her bare legs and forced the girl to the ground. With her arm locked down, the girl could do nothing but squirm.

At least, that was what Ashe thought. With complete disregard for her own safety, the girl lifted her other hand to Ashe's face. The queen didn't react quickly enough and suffered painful burns when the girl shot a fire spell out of her hand. If it had hit her right in the face, they would both have burned to death.

Ashe couldn't see, and the girl overpowered her. On the ground, unable to see, she knew what was going to happen next.

Ashe was perplexed when the lethal blow didn't come. Instead, someone knelt down to her and touched her face.

"Grit your teeth."

She knew that voice. It was Naminé. So they were alive! That meant…

She could hear a faint spell incantation. The healing came with excruciating pain, and Ashe did as she was told. She gritted her teeth and endured it. Her wounds now mostly healed, she could finally see.

"I'll heal Basch now," Naminé said, and Ashe could hear steps in the snow.

Ashe looked up and found Olette standing next to her, panting, out of breath. She looked to the ground, and there was the girl, unconscious.

Olette had barely reached them in time after hearing the initial gun shots. It took all she had to knock the girl out with a single punch and smash her into the ground. Olette had not recovered enough to fight.

Yuffie was with them, examining the girl they had just beaten.

They were alive.

- End of Chapter XXVIII -


End file.
